From Afar
by Amaratta
Summary: [AU – Canon Divergence] He had vowed to find and then protect her. Now that she's found, he's determined to protect her without bringing her into the mess that was his life and his family affairs. But how far could he keep his distance when love has a tendency to draw a man close to his loved ones?
1. A Man With A Promise

Disclaimer: Bleach concept and characters belong to Kubo Tite. Amaratta only borrowed some of them to play in this story and promise to return them as unscathed as possible once she's done with them.

A/N: While I have read quite a few Byakuya/Rukia stories in the past, I haven't written anything for this pairing yet, but I guess there's the first time for everything. This story is a canon divergent AU, in which Byakuya didn't adopt Rukia into the Kuchiki Family as his sister but opted to protect her from afar instead. The pacing of this story is rather slow at the start and the tone of the story may seem a bit depressing at times, but it wouldn't stay that way for the rest of the story, so bear with me for now. In any case, please feel free to leave a comment. I'd like to hear your opinion about this story.

* * *

_Byakuya-sama, please find my sister. Then after you find her, please do not tell her that I am her sister. Without telling her anything, please Byakuya-sama, please protect my sister no matter what._

**Chapter 1: A Man With A Promise**

Plum blossoms were in full bloom, painting the garden of the Kuchiki Mansion with their dark pink color. Even though he used to enjoy viewing the flowers, Kuchiki Byakuya didn't spare them a glance as he walked down the wooden porch, heading toward the meeting room where a meeting with his elders would be held.

It had been a little over a year since his wife, Kuchiki Hisana, passed away, and with her, went his desire to view any flowers. After all, those blooming flowers could not compare to the beauty of even the frailest smile of hers, and to view those flowers without her by his side would only remind him of something he could no longer have.

Shaking the thought of his late wife out of his head, Byakuya continued on his way to the meeting room. He wasn't sure what the elders had on their agenda when they summoned him for a meeting, but he had a feeling that it was not going to be something good.

When Byakuya arrived to the meeting room, he spotted the family's old butler, Seike Nobutsune, kneeling in front of the closed shoji door, waiting for his arrival.

"All the elders are here, Byakuya-sama," the old man reported before he moved to slide the door open for the master.

"Thank you," said Byakuya. "You may leave now."

The old butler bowed at Byakuya and waited until the noble lord entered the room before he closed the shoji door behind and then took his leave.

Just like every other room in the Kuchiki Mansion, the meeting room was decorated in Japanese style with a long low table in the middle of the room. Ten elders were sitting on their respective zabuton seat at both sides of the table, leaving one empty seat at the head of the table for Byakuya to take.

"Good morning," Byakuya greeted as he took his seat at the head of the meeting table. Once he was seated, Byakuya spared all formality by asking, "May I ask why the meeting is called today?"

The elder who sat to the far right bowed once at Byakuya before he spoke. His name was Kuchiki Hiroshi, and he was the head of the branch family whose authority in the Kuchiki House seconded only to Byakuya who was the head of the family.

"First of all, we must congratulate you for having achieved bankai," said Hiroshi. "It's about time you did so."

Byakuya narrowed his slate eyes slightly at the older man's word. While it might seem like a genuine praise to some, Byakuya knew when it came to that man, it was anything but. Hiroshi might as well reprimand him for having paid all of his attentions to his sickly wife instead of focusing on training so he was unable to attain bankai sooner.

"Thank you, Hiroshi," Byakuya replied. His expression and voice revealed no hint of what he actually felt about Hiroshi's words. "Indeed it is nice to be able to accomplish something that not everybody could achieve in their lifetime regardless of how much they try."

Byakuya was certain that the old man was offended by his implication, but Byakuya couldn't care less about what the old man felt. After all, he was not the one who started a fight. He supposed the elders would prefer it if he were to be a docile, modest, soft-spoken kind of man, since it meant he would easily be manipulated and used as their puppets.

"However, I have a feeling you did not ask me to attend this meeting just to congratulate me," Byakuya continued, seeing that no elder said anything after his previous remark.

"We are wondering when you are going to request to take the Taishu test," Hiroshi responded. "The Sixth Division has been without a captain for years since Ginrei-sama passed on, so now that you attained bankai, you should make it your priority to pass that test and become a captain in succession of Ginrei-sama. However, we can't help noticing that you still make it your priority to search for Hisana's 'lost sister' even now..."

Byakuya narrowed his eyes and was about to counter the older man's words, another elders who was sitting next to Hiroshi, Kuchiki Naoki, cut in, attempting to tone down what could have ended up as a heated argument between the head of the Clan and one of the elders.

"Do not mistake our intention, Byakuya-sama. The council is only concerned because you have spent quite a lot of time and resources in this search, which if we are going to be completely honest here, is no more than a wild goose chase. We understand that you had to make that promise in order to give your dying wife a peace of mind. However, Hisana-dono already passed away, so there is no point in continuing this search. After all, if Hisana-dono's sister is anything like Hisana-dono, there is very little chance that she—"

"That's enough," Byakuya said in a warning tone. "It doesn't really matter how slim that chance is. What really matters is that I have given Hisana my word that I would continue searching for her sister until I find her. I don't know about this council, but I, for one, would not want people to say that a promise of a Kuchiki holds no meaning, since even the head of the Clan values his time and money more than he does the promise he made to his dead wife."

"Besides," Byakuya continued, "it is not as if all I do is sitting around all day doing nothing but wasting the family's fortune. Every kan put into this search came from my own paycheck, so I cannot see how it fits for any of you to tell me how I can or cannot spend the money I earn."

The elders were all taken aback by Byakuya's words and the tone of voice he used when he uttered them.

"As for your concern regarding my taking the taishu test, I would do so when I feel ready. After all, there is more to that test than just showing off one's bankai. Now is there any other things I have or have not done that have this council concerned?"

Not only did he ask, Byakuya also raised an eyebrow as if to challenge the elders to say something else to rebuke him.

"There is also a matter of your remarriage."

Byakuya glanced toward the man who raised the new subject, Kuchiki Kaede. From what Byakuya had seen so far, Kaede was the most compromising member of the clan council. However, it didn't necessarily mean that he was the easiest to deal with.

"I understand this is not a subject you wish to discuss but someone has to bring it up someday," Kaede continued calmly. "After all, this family needs an heir. It has been a year since Hisana-dono passed away, so now is a good time for you to seek a new wife."

"I take it you've already listed the names of all suitable prospects?"

"And if I said I had, would you take a look at them, Byakuya-sama?"

Byakuya sighed softly. Although he wanted to honor Hisana's memory by remaining as a widower after she died, he knew it was impossible for him to do so unless he wished to give up his position as the head of the clan. However, he had vowed to his grandfather that he would protect the Kuchiki Family with all of his might and thus could not simply step down just because he didn't like the hassles that came together with the position. Therefore, he had resigned to it that if the subject was ever brought up again someday, he would agree to wed someone the elders proposed in order to do his duty as the clan leader. Still, he couldn't help feeling sorry – not for himself since that the very least he would still have the memories of his time with Hisana to live by, but for any other parties that were unlucky enough to be involved in the arrangement.

"I can promise to look at those names and to meet with those ladies," Byakuya stated. "However, I cannot promise that there would be a wedding soon, since as you all have mentioned earlier, there is still the taishu test to worry about."

Kaede seemed surprised to hear that answer. He had expected Byakuya to fight tooth and nail against the idea of marrying some woman that the elders had chosen for him and insist that he would not marry again unless it was to someone he loved. It was almost anti-climactic that he simply agreed to the idea without any fight or at least giving the elders some snappy repartee. Therefore, he couldn't help wondering if Byakuya was actually planning something.

"Will that be all for today?" Byakuya asked again, but unlike the previous times he asked, this time, the elders didn't raise other subject. "Well, in that case, I shall take my leave now."

With a nod from each elder, Byakuya gave them a slight bow of his head before he rose from his seat and left the room.

* * *

Byakuya rubbed the bridge of his nose as he entered his private quarters. He always had a headache after a meeting with the elders and the previous meeting was no exception. It seemed to him that he would never meet their expectations of him no matter how hard he tried that sometimes he wondered why he even bothered.

Since he couldn't think of a better way to relieve his stress, Byakuya decided it would be a good day for him to head out to Rukongai and practice his zanpakutō. Therefore, as soon as he reached to his private quarters, he headed to the vanity table where he placed the heirloom silver-white, windflower silk scarf and the kenseikan hair clip after he removed them.

Just as he was about to pick up his zanpakutō from the sword stand which was set by the wall, Byakuya heard soft footsteps, so he turned over his shoulder and saw the faithful butler coming toward his direction.

"What is it?" Byakuya asked as he picked up his sword.

"Kaede-sama asked me to pass this book to you, Byakuya-sama. He said you already agreed to take a look at it."

With that said, the old butler presented a large hardback book to Byakuya who gave it a quick glance without actually accepting it from the butler. He could tell just from its look that the book that Kaede had passed to him was in fact a photo album which contained the photos of whoever it was that the elders deemed suitable to be his wife.

"Just put it in my study," Byakuya remarked, not wanting anything to do with that so-called book at the moment. "I'll take a look at it later when I have time."

Noticing the zanpakutō in his master's hand and the way the man dressed, Seike didn't need to question Byakuya what the noble was planning to do as it was already clear to him the nobleman would be out for a sword practice, so instead of asking whether the master would go out, he asked, "Will you return for lunch, Byakuya-sama?"

"No. I'll be out all day, so if anyone comes to see me, ask them to come by again tomorrow."

"Yes, Byakuya-sama."

Hearing the answer from the butler, Byakuya made his way out, hoping that despite the bad start, the rest of his day would not turn out to be too bad.

* * *

The sun had already set by the time Byakuya decided he had trained enough for one day. His zanpakutō, Senbonzakura, had made quite a lot of complaints when they met in Byakuya's inner world, mostly regarding the fact that Byakuya didn't put more of a fight when the elders told him he should remarry although his wife had only passed away for one year. However, that wasn't really a surprise, considering Senbonzakura usually shared his sentiment, although the zanpakutō was more straightforward and was rougher on the edge when compared to his wielder.

'You should have told them to mind their own businesses,' was what Senbonzakura said to him. 'If they want someone to get married so badly, they should do so themselves.'

A talk with Senbonzakura often relieved him of his inner turmoil, especially when his pride as a Kuchiki prevented him from having things his way. The zanpakutō would express what Byakuya had to repress, and although a conversation with Senbonzakura could not change his course of action, it was still good to know that at least one person understood him even if said person was merely his zanpakutō.

Although Byakuya could use flash-steps to return to the Kuchiki Mansion sooner, he decided against the idea and simply took a leisure walk back. After all, more fresh air could never hurt anyone.

Byakuya was lost in his thought until his ears caught something that sounded very much like a fight from a dark corner of the road back to Seireitei.

"Just leave me alone!"

"Oh, playing hard to get, aren't ya?"

"Hey, let me go, you creep!"

Byakuya quickly made his way to where the sound of the fight came from. And once he was there, he saw a petite woman whose right wrist was being seized by a man in a Shinigami uniform who appeared to want to drag her along somewhere. Although her right arm was held, the woman still put up a fight as she kicked the Shinigami in his shin and then punched him with her left fist. However, her fist was caught before she could land a hit on him.

"Let me go! Help! Somebody help!"

"Oh, nobody's gonna help you, bitch! Nobody around is stupid enough to fight a Shinigami."

The woman kept kicking the Shinigami, obviously not going to give in despite her disadvantage.

Byakuya couldn't help admiring the woman's fighting spirit while being furious at that Shinigami who clearly didn't deserve to be a member of the honorable Goteijūsantai. He didn't have to think twice before he flash-stepped behind that Shinigami and struck the nape of his neck with his hand, knocking that Shinigami out in one strike.

Meanwhile, the woman instinctively jumped back as the Shinigami fell face first to the ground before she turned her attention to the man who suddenly appeared out of nowhere to help her.

Byakuya opened his mouth to ask her how she was, but the words never left his mouth when he got a good look at that woman. Byakuya's slate eyes widened in surprise, and for the first time in a long time, he didn't quite know what he was supposed to act.

That woman, with her short ebony hair, large sapphire eyes, small nose and full peach-colored lips, she would be an exact replica of his dead wife if only she were a couple of years older. Byakuya almost called out his wife name and reached his hand out for her; however, he stopped himself midway, realizing that no matter how much that woman looked like Hisana, she was definitely not her. Hisana was more modest, and she didn't have that feisty spirit that Byakuya had witnessed from her lookalike. Still, she reminded him so much of Hisana that it almost hurt to look at her.

The woman seemed to have mistaken his silence as a signal to leave, so she quickly gave him a blow before she ran off without so much as saying thank you.

Byakuya kept staring after the woman until he heard Senbonzakura's voice telling him that he still had other task at hand, so Byakuya blinked twice before he looked down to the ground where the bad Shinigami was left out cold. He bent down and pulled the collar of his shihakushō up enough to reveal the lily of the valley insignia which was embroidered on inside of the kimono.

"The Fifth Division, huh?" he muttered to himself before he furrowed his brows. "Let's see what Aizen-taichō would say about his subordinate's behavior, then."


	2. A Girl From Inuzuri

A/N: Thanks to all who showed their support to this story by reviewing, subscribing and/or adding to favorite stories list. For all reviewers, I appreciate your thoughts and comments, and I apologize for not responding to any of you personally. Anyway, I hope this installment doesn't come out as a disappointment, but as always, comments and criticisms are welcome.

* * *

**Chapter 2: A Girl From Inuzuri**

A petite black-haired woman paid almost no attention to her surroundings as she ran as fast as she could to the gate of the Shinō Academy and didn't stop even after she entered the campus. She ran straight ahead toward the dorm area and entered the female dorm and finally stopped to sign in her name at the entrance of the dorm.

"Great," she muttered to herself, panting slightly. "I make it back before the curfew."

Since she didn't expect anyone else to be there, she almost jumped out of her skin when a girl who wore her black hair in pigtails suddenly appeared beside her.

"Rukia-chan! You're finally back."

"Hinamori-san! You startled me."

"Sorry, Rukia-chan, but where have you been?" asked the girl. "Abarai-kun has been looking for you all evening."

Hinamori, otherwise known as Hinamori Momo, was studying in the same year with her in the Shinō Academy and they also lived in the same student dorm. However, Hinamori was in a different class from Rukia's since Hinamori was an advance student. They only got to know each other through their common friend, Abarai Renji.

"Oh, it's just this part time job that I do," Rukia replied.

She didn't suppose she should tell Hinamori about what happened on her way back as it would only serve to heighten the girl's worry even though nothing actually happened, thanks to that mysterious man who popped out of nowhere to help her.

When she came to think about it again, she didn't even properly thank that man let alone asked him for his name, since she was too concerned about getting back to the dorm before the curfew. There was no way for her to tell who that mysterious man was; however, he was good enough at hand-to-hand combat and flash-stepping to be able to appear out of nowhere and knock that creepy Shinigami out by just one strike.

Looking back to the earlier event made Rukia's skin crawl. Who knew what would have happened if that man didn't come to her rescue? Rukia didn't think about it at the time she fought that Shinigami and she clearly didn't want to think about it then. All she needed to be concerned about was to study harder to have better skills in combat so that at least she could protect herself when someone tried to assault her.

"Oh. You've been taking many part-time jobs lately, Rukia-chan," Hinamori commented. "Do you need a lot of extra money?"

"Yeah, there's something I want to buy, and that doesn't come cheap," Rukia replied without giving Hinamori any more detail.

"Then be sure not to overexert yourself, Rukia-chan."

Rukia simply nodded. "Anyway, I'm a bit tired, Hinamori-san, so can I be excused?"

"Ah, yes, I'm sorry for keeping you here. By the way, don't forget to go and see Abarai-kun tomorrow. He's been worried about you."

Again, Rukia responded with a nod, so Hinamori gave her a smile before she left Rukia to her own device.

Seeing that the other girl had left, Rukia headed to the direction of her dorm room. It appeared she would be in yet another interrogation; however, this time would be by her friend, Abarai Renji, so she might as well prepared an acceptable story to tell him in order not to make him worry about her. After all, Renji could be a worrywart, and while it felt good to know that he cared about her, his overprotectiveness could sometimes be very bothersome.

* * *

Meanwhile, on another part of Seireitei, Kuchiki Byakuya dragged an unconscious Shinigami by the collar toward the direction of the Fifth Division. The Shinigami who saw him on the way gave him a bow as a greeting. Although there were curious looks in their eyes, none of them dared to question him why he dragged in one Shinigami in that fashion.

Once Byakuya reached to the Fifth Division's premise, the Shinigami who were placed as gatekeepers bowed down as a greeting before they glanced to the Shinigami who was dragged in by Byakuya and furrowed their eyebrows once they recognized that Shinigami as one of their division's members.

"Inform Aizen-taichō that I have a matter I wish to speak to him," Byakuya said blandly before either one of the gatekeepers could voice any question.

"Yes, Kuchiki-fukutaichō," said one of the gatekeepers before he quickly went into the premise, leaving the other gatekeeper to guard the door.

He could see the question in the remaining gatekeeper's eyes; however, Byakuya knew if he keep his silence the man would not dare to ask any question no matter how curious he was.

It didn't take long for the captain of the Fifth Division, Aizen Sōsuke, to come to the front gate. Despite the fact that it was supposed to be a day off for most Shinigami and it had already passed the office hour, the brown-haired, glass-wearing captain was still in his full uniform, which included the shihakushō and the white captain haori. Aizen didn't come to meet Byakuya alone, but he also brought his silver-haired lieutenant, Ichimaru Gin, with him.

"What is the matter, Kuchiki-kun?" Aizen asked as soon as he arrived to where Byakuya was waiting for him.

"I apologize for bothering you in your private time; however, I caught this man harassing a local woman in the second district of South Rukongai," Byakuya replied. "Since he is your subordinate, I reckon it would be best to leave his punishment to you."

Aizen narrowed his eyes slightly as he glared at his unconscious subordinate. He then looked back at his lieutenant who had a wicked smile plastered on his face as he remarked, "See, Aizen-taichō? I told you this guy was trouble."

Aizen sighed softly.

"I suppose you're right this time, Gin," he said wearily. "Anyway, just take this man inside and lock him up in the holding cell."

"Certainly, sir," Gin replied, broadening his smile. Then, just like what Byakuya had done earlier, Gin simply dragged his subordinate by the collars. However, before he dragged the man inside, he stopped and turned to ask the captain, "Do you want me to do anything else with him after that?"

"No, Gin, you don't have to do anything else. We will interrogate him and decide his sentence after he wakes up. Now off you go," Aizen said and waved his lieutenant off. After Gin disappeared inside with that unconscious Shinigami, Aizen turned to Byakuya and gave him an apologetic look. "Anyway, I'm sorry for the trouble my subordinate caused, Kuchiki-kun. I'll make sure that his punishment fits the crime he committed."

"I'm not exactly the person you should say sorry to, am I, Aizen-taichō?"

Aizen nodded.

"That's true. Since you mention it, about that woman my subordinate harassed, did you happen to get her name? It's not that I don't trust your word, Kuchiki-kun, but I might need her to ask her a few questions."

Byakuya shook his head slightly.

"She ran away before I could."

"I see. Never mind, then," Aizen said with a look that seemed like he was pondering about something. "I'm sure I'll still be able to get to the bottom of this somehow."

"I shall leave this matter to you then."

Once again, Aizen gave Byakuya a nod of his head.

"I have bothered you for long enough, so I will excuse myself now," Byakuya said and gave Aizen a slight bow of his head. "Good night, Aizen-taichō."

"Good night, Kuchiki-kun."

* * *

The first thing Byakuya did when he returned to the Kuchiki Mansion was heading to the room where a small shrine was set. He opened the double doors of the shrine to reveal a portrait of a woman with short black hair and sad blue eyes, his late wife—Hisana. Although it hurt less to look at her picture now that it had been a year since she passed, he still felt bereft whenever he came to visit her shrine.

"I might have found your sister, Hisana," Byakuya stated in a tender tone that he reserved for her ears only. "However, I couldn't even get her name. I've failed you again, haven't I?"

He sighed.

"Well, at least now I have some leads to look into, so I can assure you that we'll be able to find and confirm whether she's your sister soon."

Reaching his right hand out to his late wife's picture, he lightly ran his thumb over the outline of her face.

"It's a shame we didn't find her sooner so that you could have been reunited with her. Then, maybe you'd have been able to show me your real smile or you might still be here with me today."

Looking at the picture with a longing look in his gray eyes, Byakuya continued:

"I miss you, Hisana. I would follow you to the other world if I could, but seeing that I couldn't, I will be here to keep the promise I gave to you and protect your sister even if it's the last thing I do."

Silence filled the room as Byakuya spent his time just quietly looking at his late wife's photo while tracing his finger lightly on the picture frame.

A long moment had passed until Byakuya heard soft footsteps coming closer to the room, so he let his hand drop from the photo frame and turned over his shoulder to see who came to that part of the house at that time of the night.

He relaxed slightly when he saw that it was merely the old butler who passed by. However, he had to raise his eyebrow when he realized the old man was not just passing by and seemed to be there to find him as Seike stopped in front of the room and bowed to him.

"Pardon my interruption, Byakuya-sama. Ozaki-dono just reported in. He said you were expecting him."

Byakuya nodded. When Seike mentioned 'Ozaki-dono' he was referring to Ozaki Shun, a faithful retainer who Byakuya had entrusted to lead a team to search for Hisana's sister since he first learned about said sister from his late wife. Ozaki was currently following a potential lead in the first district of North Rukongai; however, Byakuya immediately called him back after he saw that girl who bore striking resemblance of Hisana, so that the man would help him confirm whether or not she had any relation to Hisana.

"Let him know that I will see him in my study."

"Yes, Byakuya-sama."

With that, the butler left Byakuya alone in the room once again.

Turning his attention back to the picture of Hisana, Byakuya remarked, "I have to go now, so I will see you again later, Hisana."

Then he closed the doors of the shrine and headed for the study in order to see the person who just reported in.

* * *

When Byakuya arrived to his study, Ozaki had already been standing by the corner of the room, waiting for his arrival. The man respectfully bowed to Byakuya as a greeting.

Byakuya gave him a nod in response before he walked past Ozaki to his chair behind the desk. He furrowed his brows slightly at the sight the album that Kaede had asked the butler to pass to him earlier, Byakuya quickly slid it to the top right corner of the desk so it would be away from his view. Having done so, he sat down on his chair and then turned his attention back to one Ozaki Shun.

"Have a seat," Byakuya said, motioning to the chair on the other side of the desk. "I have two tasks for you and your team."

"What are they, Byakuya-sama?" Ozaki asked before he took the seat that Byakuya offered.

"I saw a woman today in the second district of South Rukongai," Byakuya began. "She looks almost identical to Hisana, except that she appears younger. I did not get her name, much less where she came from. Therefore, I want you to make it your priority to find out about that woman and see if she's related to Hisana."

"Yes, Byakuya-sama. I will work on that right away. What is the other task?"

"I want you to investigate the backgrounds of all those women in that album and report them to me," Byakuya said before he motioned his hand toward the album in question and gave the retainer a nod as the man reached out to grab it. "You can take that album with you and return it to me whenever you're done."

Ozaki opened the album and raised his eyebrow slightly, apparently realized that it was some sort of matchmaking album. However, he made no comment about that fact and simply put that big album in the fold of his kimono.

"I will complete these tasks as soon as I can, Byakuya-sama."

"In that case, I won't waste any more of your time. You can go now."

"Then I shall take my leave, Byakuya-sama. Good night."

With that, Ozaki bowed down to Byakuya before he quietly left the room.

Once he saw that the retainer had left, Byakuya closed his eyes and sighed. After everything that happened that day, he had a feeling that it would be yet another night he wouldn't be able to get a proper sleep.

* * *

On another part of Seireitei, the woman whose details Byakuya was trying to get couldn't have had a sounder sleep even though she should have been shaken by the fact that she was harassed by a creepy Shinigami earlier. If she were to feel anything about that incident at all, it was angered by the fact that she didn't get to kick that Shinigami in the groin to avenge the fact that he had grabbed her wrist so hard it bruised.

Speaking of the bruise, it could clearly be seen on her pale skin in the next day, so Rukia decided to hide it by wrapping a handkerchief around her wrist so that no one would question her how she received the bruise. She then headed out to look for her friend, Abarai Renji, since Hinamori told her he had been looking for her in the day before.

It wasn't difficult to locate Renji in the campus's canteen since his flaming red hair stood out so much that no one would be able to miss it.

"Yo, Renji!" she said and waved at him as she approached to where the man was eating his breakfast.

Since the man was still in the middle of stuffing his face with a pile of taiyaki, a fish-shaped cake filled with red bean paste, it took a while for Renji to gulp down what he was chewing before she arrived down his throat.

"Rukia! Where were you yesterday?"

Rukia gave him a shrug before she sat down on a seat across the table to his.

"What? You're not even gonna say good morning to me?" she asked. Since she knew taiyaki was Renji's favorite food, she decided to tease him a bit by picking up one taiyaki from Renji's plate and took a bite at it.

"Hey, that's mine! Go and get your own breakfast if you're hungry, midget."

"Don't call me midget, you stingy pineapple," Rukia said, "Che. You can have your taiyaki back. It isn't really that delicious anyway."

Rukia then reached out to place the taiyaki that she had already bitten back into Renji's plate; however, the red-haired man was quicker to put the plate out of her reach.

"You can have that one. Just don't put what you've already bitten in my plate, jeez! That's gross."

Rukia flashed Renji a smug smile.

"Anyway, I don't think I'll be filled by just one taiyaki, so I'll go and grab my own breakfast. Don't go anywhere yet."

With that, Rukia left the table and headed to get her own meal. It didn't take long until she returned, carrying a tray which contained a small bow of rice, a plate of some kind of meat and a bowl of miso soup, and took the previous seat she had taken.

"So Hinamori-san said you were looking for me yesterday?" Rukia began after she sat down.

"Yeah, I did. I noticed plum blossoms were blooming, so I thought I'd invite you to go out and have a plum blossom viewing picnic or something like that, but I couldn't find you anywhere."

"Oh. I guess I forgot to tell you I've taken more part-time jobs," Rukia explained. "Sorry about that."

"You took more jobs?" Renji asked, furrowing his brows. "Haven't you been working two part-time jobs already? What do you need so much extra money for anyway? It's not like you're one of those girls who waste money on clothes and make up."

Rukia rolled her eyes. Although she wanted to say that the reason she was working that many jobs was because she was saving up to buy him a birthday present, she didn't want to ruin the surprise. Therefore, she simply responded in a sarcastic tone, "Well, I'm sorry I'm not womanly enough for you. But as unwomanly as I am, I still have things I want to buy."

"Hey, I'm not saying that you're not womanly," Renji quickly noted. However, he took one quick look at his friend and then added, "well, maybe you're not, but … ouch!"

Renji yelped as he was kicked in the shin under the table. He then bent slightly down to rub where he was kicked to relieve the pain.

"You might not have said it aloud, but you clearly think so," she accused.

Since Renji knew that she wouldn't believe him even if he tried to deny her accusation, he decided not to say anything at all and changed the subject entirely.

"Anyway, are you free later today?" Renji asked, sounding hopeful. "The flowers are still blooming so we can have a picnic today instead."

Rukia looked at Renji as though he had just grown some horns on his head.

"I never knew you're a flower viewing type," Rukia commented. "And just when you thought you knew somebody well."

Although she was just teasing him with the reply, a part of what she said was true. She thought she had known him well, as they had been friends since they were still children; however, after the rest of the friends they met in Inuzuri died and they decided to apply to the Shinō Academy, they gradually grew apart, especially since they were put in different classes since Renji was one of those advance students while she was just an average student. Although Renji would tell her about his activities as an advance student and about his new circle of friends, those stories only served to make her feel as if they were even further apart that sometimes Rukia couldn't help being afraid that someday they would become complete strangers to one another.

She wondered if that was how he felt as well, which was why he tried to bridge the gap by inviting her to view flowers with him when such activities probably didn't interest a person like him at all.

"Just answer me if you're you free or not."

Although she would love to join him, she also had to work that day. After all, that pair of goggles Renji always said he wanted was anything but cheap.

"I'm sorry, Renji, but I have to do another part-time job today. In fact, my shift will start in half an hour, so maybe some other day?"

Renji sighed softly, clearly disappointed.

"If you're not free, then never mind. I'd just ask Kira and Hinamori if they'd be interested," he said. "Hurry up and eat your food. It'd be bad if you're late for your job, right?"

* * *

It had been a slow day at the spice store Rukia was working as a part-timer, so all Rukia had been doing was arranging the shelf while the middle-aged woman who was the owner of the store was working at the register and receiving calls from customers.

"Rukia-chan," the owner suddenly called from where she was sitting. "Can you come over here for a moment?"

"Yes, Hana-san?" Rukia replied and made sure the spice jar was well placed on the shelf before she made her way to the cash register.

"An important customer just called in and ordered ten boxes of premium spices. He wants us to deliver the goods today. However, Kei-kun is on leave, so can you deliver the goods for me, Rukia-chan?"

"Sure, Hana-san. No problem at all. Where do you want me to deliver them?"

"At the Kuchiki Mansion."

"That big house in the middle of the city?" Rukia asked, widening her eyes. Everyone in the city knew the mansion belonged to one of five great noble houses, and there were mentions of several Kuchikis in the Shinō Academy's history class. "Are you sure it's alright that I'm the one to deliver the goods? I mean, they're nobles and all, so…"

Rukia didn't finish her sentence, but Hana still got what the part-timer was thinking. She took a quick glance over Rukia's appearance before she replied:

"It will be fine, Rukia-chan. It's not like you'll have to meet any nobles in that family. You only have to deliver the goods to the butler of that mansion who will be expecting you at the gate. His name is Seike-san. He is a kind man, so you don't have to worry about meeting him."

"I see. Then should I pack the goods for delivery, Hana-san?"

"No, I'll do that myself," the owner replied. "Just wait here a moment."

* * *

It took a while for Rukia to make her way from the spice store to the Kuchiki Mansion since those spice boxes were quite heavy. Although she had seen that mansion several times when she went looking around Seireitei when she had some free time from her lessons at the Shinō Academy and her part-time jobs, it was the first time she actually had business there, so Rukia wasn't quite sure if she should wait by the door or go in and ask for that 'Seike-san'.

Since she didn't want to be arrested for trespassing, Rukia decided to wait at the gate and hope that someone would come by soon; however, there was no sign that anyone would come after she had waited there for several minutes.

"Didn't Hana-san said Seike-san would be expecting me?" she wondered, frowning slightly. "How come there's no one around? I thought a noble house was supposed to have bunches of servants walking around all the time."

Feeling brave, Rukia decided to poke her head in, and the moment she did so, a guy in purple ninja-like costume suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"What are you doing?"

Rukia almost jumped out of her skin since she didn't expect anyone to suddenly came by.

"I have a delivery for Seike-san," she said. "Can you get him here for me?"

"Oh! You must have never delivered goods here before. You should go to the back gate instead. You should be able to find Seike-san there."

With that, the purple ninja guy disappeared from Rukia's sight before she could question him more about where she should deliver the goods.

"Right. The back gate," Rukia said through gritted teeth. "And how should I know which gate is the back gate when I don't even know which gate this one is?"

Sighing softly, Rukia decided she would just try the next gate she found and hoped that it would be the right one.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Kuchiki Mansion, Byakuya was heading out of the house. He was clad in a standard dark blue kimono and a black pair of hakama. The silk scarf and the kenseikan which would signify his rank as the head of the Kuchiki Family were in the safety of his bedroom as Byakuya planned to be out to Rukongai to train with his zanpakutō like the previous day and didn't see the use of wearing his family heirlooms out there.

He didn't expect that when he arrived to the gate, there would be a petite woman standing there, carrying a tower of boxes in her arms, much less that said woman would be the same woman he had rescued in the previous night—the one who bore so strong resemblance of his late wife that he had ordered his retainer to search for her.

"Ah, it's you!" was the first thing she said when she saw his face.

Byakuya winced at the way he was greeted, since from her voice, he was sure the woman would have pointed her finger at his face if she hadn't been carrying those boxes. Still, he was a little surprised by the indication that she managed to remember him even though she probably didn't get a good look at his face in the night before.

He noticed how she suddenly went stiff as if she had come to realize that what she had said earlier was not the way she should have greeted a customer.

"I'm sorry, I meant, you must be Seike-san," she quickly corrected herself, using a more polite and respectful tone of voice this time.

Byakuya blinked twice. He wondered if he really had no aura of a nobleman that she would easily believe that he was a butler. In any case, it was clear to him that it was the first time she ever delivered anything to the Kuchiki Mansion, as she wouldn't have made that kind of mistake had she been there before.

It appeared Byakuya was too slow to react, so he missed the chance to correct her misunderstanding before she bowed down to him and then introduced herself.

"I am Rukia from Hana Kōshinryō. You've ordered ten boxes of our premium spices, so I'm here to make the delivery."

So her name was Rukia and she was working at the Kuchiki's regular spice shop for who knew how long. How was it possible that he never met her before the previous night when she was so close that he could as well say she was living right under his nose?

While Byakuya was in his reverie, Rukia balance those spice boxes on her left arm and right knee as she let go of her right hand in order to take a piece of people out of the fold of her kimono and then handed the paper to him.

"Please inspect the goods and stamp your personal seal on this paper as a proof of receipt."

Byakuya dazedly accepted the paper. He was uncertain if he should be offended or amused by the way she composed herself in front of him. Therefore, he decided against both and simply noted:

"You do realize, of course, that you could put those boxes down first."

"Ah, right, silly me!"

With that, she walked to carefully place the tower of boxes that she had been carrying down by the gate.

"I've never seen you around here before. How long have you been working for your stop?" Byakuya inquired as he quickly scanned the content in the paper.

"I've started working part-time there since last month," she replied. "However, I've never delivered anything to this house before, since that's normally Kei-san's job. He's on leave today, though, so the owner sent me here instead."

"I see."

"Anyway, please examine the goods and stamp your seal on the paper," Rukia requested again, obviously couldn't wait to return to her shop.

Since he was urged, Byakuya took the set of mitomein—an unregistered personal seal for daily, unofficial usage—out of the fold of his kimono and then stamped the seal on the paper before he handed the paper back to her without bothering to examine the goods.

Byakuya noticed the way the girl furrowed her brows slightly as she glanced over the paper he returned to her, and he suspected it was due to the fact that the name which was stamped down on the paper actually read Kuchiki instead of Seike as she might have expected.

For a moment there, he wondered if she would make a comment on that fact or she would simply let it pass, believing that as a butler, Seike would have an unofficial Kuchiki seal on his person in order to accept goods on the family's behalf. If she chose to ask, it would be the time for him to correct her misunderstanding, though he wasn't sure if she would believe him should he introduce himself as the head of the family, Kuchiki Byakuya, seeing as she seemed totally convinced that he was the butler.

However, Rukia didn't say make any comment about the seal. She merely folded the paper and tugged it away inside the fold of her kimono before she asked, "Aren't you going to check the goods, Seike-san?"

The truth was even though Byakuya liked spicy food, he still wouldn't be able to tell if the boxes of spice Rukia delivered were actually of premium grade. However, he didn't think he should tell her so; therefore, he only gave her what he believed would be the most logical response:

"Your shop has been doing business with our house for a long time, so I doubt the owner would want to lose an important customer by cheating them out of their goods."

"Even so, you should still check," Rukia said in a tone that made it sound like she was lecturing him for his carelessness. "You can't be too careful these days."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Anyway, thank you for choosing to buy our shop's spices," she remarked. Then she bowed down lowly and added, "and also, thank you very much for helping me last night."

"You're welcome."

Rukia flashed him a bright smile before she gave him yet another short bow before she was off.

Byakuya drew a sharp breath once she was gone from his line of sight. He would need to get a confirmation on whether or not that woman was related to his dead wife, since he was certain that he wouldn't be able to sleep at night until he could get to the bottom of it. Yet, he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do once everything became clear.

Letting out yet another sigh, Byakuya then dug inside of his kimono sleeve and pulled out a soul phone before he dialed a certain number.

"Hello, Ozaki. It's me," he said as soon as his call was received. "I want you to run a background check on a Rukia from Hana Kōshinryō and report everything you can find to me as soon as possible."


	3. The Turning Point

A/N: Thanks to all who expressed their thoughts and supports for this story. You know the pacing of the story is slow when it takes three chapters to get to where the summary is at, but hey, at least it gets there, right? I don't know if this is something you expect to see or not, but I still hope you'll enjoy reading nonetheless. In any case, please let me know what you think through review, and of course alert and favorite are also welcome. Till next time!

* * *

**Chapter 3: The Turning Point**

"I don't get it! How could you have been placed in an advanced class when you can't even cast a basic hadō spell without it blowing up in your face?"

Rukia spoke while she was chewing on a huge triangular rice ball which was wrapped by nori seaweed and filled with pickled plums. She was sitting on the ground of the practice field under the shade of one pine tree, watching her friend, Abarai Renji, try and fail at casting a certain destruction spell.

"There's nothing basic about casting a hadō," Renji returned, obviously irritated by his friend's comment.

A huge chunk of Renji's red hair was burnt while his face was covered in dirt and smoke as a result of a spell being exploded in his face. If he hadn't already shaven his eyebrows and replaced them with tattoos, he would have surely lost his eyebrows then.

Rukia rolled her eyes.

"It is basic alright. There's a reason why Byakurai is just hadō number 4 and not something higher," she remarked. "Let's face it, Renji, you suck at kidō."

"Are you saying that you can do better?"

"Of course."

"Show me then," Renji challenged, turning to fully face her with arms akimbo.

"I'm still eating, you idiot," Rukia responded, waving the half eaten rice ball in front of him to emphasize her point.

"Ha, do you really think you can get away with that stupid excuse?" Renji asked, glaring at her in a hope that by doing so she would accept his challenge and actually showed him her kidō skill or lack thereof. "Unless you can cast that spell, you have no right to criticize my skill, Normal Student-san."

Rukia groaned and looked at him with her eyes narrowed. Renji hit the raw nerve when he mentioned about the fact that she was an ordinary student unlike he who was given an advanced placement in the Shinō Academy even though they signed up to the Academy at the same time.

She then muttered something under her breath, and just as Renji was about to say something else to rile her up a little more, she pointed her right index and middle finger at Renji's general direction and then shot out white lightning.

Renji instinctively dodged the spell although, judging from where Rukia fired her spell, it wouldn't have hit him even if he didn't move away. Even so, he still glared at her.

"What the hell, Rukia? That was dangerous!"

Giving her friend a sadistic smirk, she responded, "Well, you asked for it."

"You could have hit me!"

"Yeah, I could have but I didn't, did I? Now just admit that you suck and I might take a pity on you and give you a few pointers so you wouldn't fail your upcoming test."

Renji grumbled under his breath. Although he knew that kidō was never his strong suit and wasn't afraid to say so to his other classmates, Rukia was the only person he didn't want to admit that to. Perhaps it was because he always wanted to impress her despite the fact that she was hardly ever impressed by anything he did.

"Che, like I'd ever need your help," Renji said stubbornly.

Although she knew she shouldn't take his words to the heart since he was probably just trying to protect his own ego, she still couldn't help rolling her eyes and commented:

"Fine. Since you don't seem to appreciate my kidō skill, I don't see why I should waste the time of my lunch break to sit here and watch you blow up your own face. You can fail that kidō test of yours for all I care."

With that said, she finished the rice ball and then stood up. She pat her red hakama to remove any dirt that might have stuck there when she was sitting on the ground and then started walking away.

Seeing that his friend actually started to walk away, Renji realized he should have kept his big mouth shut instead of trying to act all high and mighty to protect his own ego, so he quickly called her back.

"Oi, come on, Rukia! I was just kidding. I know your kidō skill is better than mine, so stay and help me, would you?"

"Is that really what you say when you beg for someone's help, Renji?" Rukia asked, turning around to give her friend a glare.

"Please? I won't pass the kidō exam without your help," Renji added. "I'll buy you dinner?"

"It's better be a nice one…"

And so the two Shinō Academy's students began their kidō practice without caring much about the heat of the glaring midday sun.

* * *

Unbeknownst to them, their actions were being observed by one Kuchiki Byakuya who was standing on the second floor of the library building which was located not too far from the training field. Although he came to the Academy for an entirely different matter and didn't plan to look for Rukia, much less spy on her activities; his eyes somehow found her on that field so he decided to stand there and watch her for a moment.

He had received a report on her background from Ozaki since a couple of days earlier. Not much was found about her past aside from the fact that she was from Inuzuri and the closest person she had to a family was that red-haired friend of hers, Abarai Renji. The two of them enrolled to the Shinō Academy in the previous fall in order to seek for a better kind of life than what Inuzuri could offer.

She registered into the Shinō Academy under the name Nanashi Rukia, which made Byakuya wondered if she intended to imply that her family name was literally unknown. In any case, she passed the entrance exam and was placed in class 8 where she studied the first-year program and earned average grades. Although she was only a few months shy of completing her first-year program, she had yet to adjust to the life at the campus and hadn't made many friends.

On her free time from the Academy, she was working on three part-time jobs: one was a shop assistant at the Hana Kōshinryō during weekend days, the other one was a waitress at an izakaya in the second district of South Rukongai during weekend nights, and the last one was a kitchen-hand at a medium-sized restaurant in Seireitei on Tuesday and Thursday nights. Although it was unknown as to why she needed to work that many jobs as she lived a rather modest lifestyle and didn't seem to need anything extravagant.

Despite what Byakuya's retainer had found, it was still unconfirmed whether or not Rukia was related to Byakuya's dead wife as the result on the comparison of Rukia's genetic data with Hisana's still had yet to come out.

'_What do you plan to do if the result is positive? And you and I both know it will be.'_

The question came from the spirit of his zanpakutō, Senbonzakura, who was also watching the girl and her friend through Byakuya's eyes.

Byakuya didn't need to ask his zanpakutō why he asked such a question, since he knew that Senbonzakura knew exactly what promise he had given to Hisana as Senbonzakura was also there at that time, watching everything unfold from the inner world.

'_I don't know, Senbonzakura,'_ Byakuya admitted, knowing that there was no use in lying to the zanpakutō.

'_You don't know?' _the zanpakutō returned in disbelief.

'_I don't know,' _the Shinigami insisted. '_The most obvious choice if that woman really turns out to be Hisana's sister is to adopt her into the family as my sister.'_

_'But what?' _Senbonzakura asked, knowing that Byakuya was hardly hesitant in his decision making; therefore, there had to be some reasons why he couldn't make up his mind. _'Are you worried that the elders wouldn't let you?'_

'_Their opinions are the least of my concern,' _Byakuya replied. '_Even if they should disapprove, I know how to silence them.'_

'_Then what's the problem?'_ Senbonzakura prompted.

'_Look at her, Senbonzakura,' _Byakuya said as he once again turned his focus to the scene of Rukia and Renji training their kidō together.

In his view, Rukia and Renji was shouting something at one another before Rukia narrowed her eyes and then kicked the man who was twice her size in the shin, causing him to yelp and then rub his shin in order to relieve the pain.

'_Does she seem like someone who will fit into the family?'_

'_Given enough time and practice, her manners can be refined,'_ Senbonzakura commented. Even though he didn't exactly say it, Byakuya could still tell that the zanpakutō wanted him to compare that situation with the time when he insisted to wed Hisana.

In a way, Senbonzakura was right; but somehow, Byakuya believed the zanpakutō missed the point of his true concern. And since Senbonzakura couldn't see it himself, Byakuya didn't think he would understand even if Byakuya were to fully explain.

'_Perhaps,' _Byakuya replied noncommittally as he watched how Rukia was laughing about with Renji as if nothing in the world could worry her. '_But will she truly be happy?'_

'_What's not to be happy about? As a Kuchiki, she could have everything she ever wanted. She wouldn't have to work all those part-time jobs nor would she have to eat those cheap food. She'll have a good family and a secured, comfortable life.'_

Byakuya kept his gray eyes on the field where Rukia and Renji continued training. The boy's spell would occasionally blow up in his face and Rukia would yell at him, then they would argue for a moment before they would start over again.

He supposed if he hadn't met her and seen the way she interacted with that red-haired friend of hers and only received a report on how she was living in general, adopting her into the family as his sister would be an easy decision. After all, if that had been the case, then she would have been nothing more than a name on the paper, a promise he had given to his dead wife. However, he had met her, and somehow that made him have a second thought about everything he had planned.

'_I still don't know, Senbonzakura,' _Byakuya insisted in a tone that said he didn't want to discuss it anymore.

He could hear Senbonzakura's displeased groan in the back of his mind just before the zanpakutō faded into the background as if he didn't feel like discussing anything with Byakuya anymore.

Byakuya closed his eyes and sighed. He supposed one thing that he and his zanpakutō had in common was that they were both very stubborn although Senbonzakura tended to be more rash and reacted more strongly when things didn't go his way.

* * *

When Byakuya opened his eyes again and turned away from the practice field in order to leave the building, he saw a man with silver hair who always had that same unreadable smile on his face—Ichimaru Gin.

That everlasting smile of the lieutenant of the Fifth Division was widened the moment their eyes met—or so Byakuya would like to believed they did, since it was impossible to tell with the way Gin's eyes seemed to always be closed. When he came to think about it again, he didn't think he had ever seen that man's eyes open at all. In any case, Gin waved to him as a greeting.

"Ah! Good afternoon, rokubantai-fukutaichō-san!" the man greeted heartily. "What brings you here today? I don't think it's the Sixth Division's turn to inspect the academy yet."

"I only came to borrow a few books," Byakuya responded, "and I'm now on my way out."

Anyone else would have cringed at Byakuya's reply as it could be implied that the noble didn't want any business to do with them. However, Ichimaru Gin wasn't just anyone else. In fact, unlike other people who often thought Byakuya was unfriendly and unapproachable, that man had no qualms about coming to greet him whenever their paths crossed. Gin once said it was because they were around the same age and they were also in the same rank in the Gotei 13, so they should stick together. However, Byakuya never did become friends with that man, and it was not because Gin was just a peasant from Rukongai but there was something about that man that Byakuya didn't quite trust.

"Oh, I see. For a moment there I thought you're here to scout new talents to your division, I mean, you were watching one of the stars of the freshman year."

Since he already knew that the person he was actually watching didn't stand out at all that there was no way for her to be called a star of the freshman year, he could only concluded that Ichimaru Gin assumed he was observing Abarai Renji.

"I suppose you could say I was watching him."

Although it wasn't the whole truth, Byakuya supposed that would do. It wasn't anyone's business whom he was actually watching, much less someone he didn't fully trust.

"He seems to have some talents, doesn't he?" Gin noted. "I guess, it's a good thing he's still just in the first year and won't be available to be recruited for a few more years."

"Good for whom?" Byakuya couldn't help asking.

"Eh? For me, of course. After all, I want talented people like him as my subordinates but if I recruit him now, he'll end up as a member of the Fifth Division when I'm planning to take the taishu test and apply for the captain position in the Third Division," Gin remarked.

Although Byakuya should be surprised by the news that he was not the only one who was preparing to take the captain proficiency test, he couldn't find it in him to actually care. After all, it wasn't as if Ichimaru Gin was after the same position as Byakuya was.

"Is that so?"

Byakuya supposed their conversation would end there, since he only gave Gin a curt reply and didn't give him any good way to continue the conversation.

"Yeah, but anyway, I should let you be on your way," Gin remarked, realizing how Byakuya once again not-so-subtly tried to end the conversation. "Meanwhile, I'll just get inside and find some interesting book to read while I wait for Aizen-taichō to finish giving a lecture on calligraphy."

"Good day, then," Byakuya said.

"Oh, and by the way, I think I should let you know that we have punished that Shinigami—you know, the one who you turned in for assaulting a civilian. He won't be anyone's problem anymore."

"I see. That's good."

"See you around, Kuchiki-san."

Since he had already bid the man farewell earlier, Byakuya saw no point in doing so again. Therefore, he gave the silver-haired lieutenant a slight nod of his head before he continued on his way out, unable to care less about what Ichimaru Gin would do afterward.

* * *

The rest of the day passed by very slowly for Byakuya, as there was not much to be done at the Sixth Division except for having a meeting with all of the Sixth Division's seat officers to discuss a training plan for all of their unseated subordinates as well as discussing a recruitment plan in preparation for when the sixth-year students would graduate from the Shinō Academy in the upcoming summer.

He had to admit that his mind wasn't really on his work lately and he supposed the third seat of his division, Shirogane Ginjirō, noticed it; however, the man hadn't voiced any concerns yet, possibly due to the fact that Byakuya still managed to get all of his work done.

Byakuya wasn't sure if he should feel relaxed when he reached back home. Ever since his wife died, he felt the mansion became much less like home and more like a cage where he was surrounded by the people who called themselves his family and yet they seemed to care less about his feelings than they did their wealth and status.

In any case, Lord Kuchiki made his way to his chamber, acknowledging greeting from each servant he met along the way with a nod. The more he thought about it, the more he couldn't help feeling that those servants might care more for him as a person than all of his family members actually did.

Speaking of care, he was greeted by Seike who was waiting for him by his bedroom door, carrying a small tray which contained a glass of what appeared to be plum wine. Sometimes Byakuya wondered if the old man had some kind of tracker on him, since the butler seemed to always know where to find him and never failed to come to greet him within five minutes after he returned to the house. Then again, his late grandfather, Kuchiki Ginrei, wouldn't have selected that man to be the butler if he wasn't capable of at least that.

"Welcome home, Byakuya-sama," said the old butler before he bowed to Byakuya and offered him the drink.

"Ozaki-dono dropped by this afternoon and he asked me to pass you a letter," the butler reported once Byakuya gingerly accepted the drink. He then dug into the fold of his kimono and brought out one envelope which was sealed with red sealing wax which was impressed with Ozaki's personal seal.

Byakuya accepted the envelope. He could tell even before he opened the envelope that it contained the result of genetic comparison of Rukia and Hisana. However, instead of rushing to open it to see the result, Byakuya placed it in the fold of his kimono as if it didn't contain anything urgent.

"Thank you."

"I have already prepared the bath, so you can take a bath whenever you feel like. Dinner will be ready at seven. Would you like me to bring it here when it's ready?"

"That would be nice, thank you," Byakuya replied. "You may go now."

"Then will not bother you any longer, Byakuya-sama."

With that, Seike gave Byakuya yet another bow before he took his leave.

Byakuya sighed softly before he entered his bedroom without bothering to close the door behind. He removed his zanpakutō from his person and then placed it on a sword stand at the wall before he walked to the vanity table.

He took a sip of the plum wine before he placed the glass down on a vanity table. He then removed the lieutenant arm band and placed it in the side drawer.

Byakuya took off his heirloom scarf and folded it neatly before he placed it in the drawer with the armband. Then he removed the kenseikan hair ornament and placed it back in its container which was set in front of the mirror. Sometimes he couldn't help wondering if his ancestors had a twisted sense of humor for choosing a scarf and a heavy hair ornament as the family's heirlooms, for sometimes he felt that his responsibilities as the head of his prestigious clan was like an invisible noose around his neck and a strange weight on his head.

Chuckling at the thought, Byakuya left the vanity and walked to a low writing table before he sat there. Once he was seated, Byakuya took the envelope he received from Seike out of the fold of his kimono. He gingerly removed the seal and carefully pulled out a thin piece of paper. He didn't take long to read the whole content, and after he was done, he closed his eyes. Although he had already placed his zanpakutō by the wall away from where he was sitting, he could still hear Senbonzakura in the back of his mind humming something that sounded very much like 'I told you so'.

* * *

When Seike came to serve dinner, Byakuya was still holding that piece of paper in his hand. The elderly butler didn't make any comment regarding the troubled look on Byakuya's face; however, he eyed his master with concern.

He was preparing to step back and leave Byakuya to his thought, but before he could do as he planned, Byakuya suddenly asked him the one question he never asked before.

"Was Hisana happy here?"

The butler blinked twice at the question.

"I know it's already too late to ask, but answer me anyway," Byakuya added.

Seike thought about how he should answer his master. It was not the first time Byakuya questioned him about how Hisana was doing in the house when he was not there, but in the past, Byakuya made the inquiry to make sure his wife could adjust to the life in the family. This time, however, Seike couldn't fathom why Byakuya should demand to know.

"There were some difficulties, of course, but Hisana-sama was not unhappy."

"Which means she wasn't happy either," Byakuya concluded from the roundabout way his butler answered the question.

"I wouldn't go so far as to say she was not happy, Byakuya-sama."

"How was she treated by my family when I wasn't around?" Byakuya asked again, and when he didn't get the answer right away, he prompted, "Answer me honestly this time, Seike. Hisana is no longer here, so you don't have to sugarcoat things to cover for her or for anyone else."

Seike sighed softly. He wasn't surprised that Byakuya knew that he hadn't told him the whole truth when Byakuya questioned him about how the family treated his wife back when Hisana was still alive. After all, his master had to be blind if he couldn't tell that his family didn't fully welcome his wife. However, for some reasons unknown to Seike, Byakuya had never demanded to hear the whole truth before and simply let it go as if he was content with the answer. Therefore, he had to wonder why Byakuya suddenly demanded to know the whole truth at that time when the lady had already passed away, and Byakuya could not go back in time to change anything even if something bad actually happened.

"If you wish to know, Byakuya-sama, your family generally gave Hisana-sama cold shoulders and acted as if she did not existed. They would never look her way and if she greeted them, they would simply ignore her."

"I figured as much," Byakuya remarked before he closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I failed as a husband, didn't I? I gave her a vow to love her and to protect her from all the harms, but I couldn't even protect her from my own family."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Byakuya-sama," Seike replied. "You did your best to look out for her; but if you were to directly confront your family regarding how they treat your wife, it wouldn't have changed anything, except it might stir more troubles for her. Hisana-sama understood this as well, which was why she asked me and other servants to tell you she was treated well, so you wouldn't have to worry about her. To quote Hisana-sama, Byakuya-sama already treated her well enough to make up for the rest of his family so she did not want to bother you with something trivial."

Opening his gray eyes again, Byakuya looked away from Seike and to the garden outside.

"I still failed her," Byakuya concluded.

"Byakuya-sama..."

Seike didn't have a chance to try to convince Byakuya otherwise, when the master of the house cut him off with yet another question:

"Say, Seike, do you think Hisana would have still been alive today if I hadn't married her and brought her into this family?"

Seike furrowed his brows. He didn't like that question, nor did he liked the way his master sounded when he uttered the sentence.

"Well, that is not—" Seike cut himself off as he realized that Byakuya didn't really need to know his answer to that question, as he was probably on one of his moods to blame everything on himself yet again. "Byakuya-sama, if I may so inquire, what is it that you really intend to find out from asking all these questions?"

"My intention is not of your concerns," Byakuya responded dismissively. His eyes still lingered on the garden. "However, thanks to your answers, I can finally make up my mind."

* * *

Renji was running around the campus, looking for Rukia. He had just passed an important kidō exam and he had Rukia to thank for it, so he couldn't wait to relay that happy news to her. However, Rukia was nowhere to be found even though she was supposed to still be in the campus as she didn't have to do any part-time job that he knew of on that day.

"Hey, have you seen Rukia?" he asked some random guy whom he recognized as Rukia's classmate.

"I think she was summoned to the student administration building," the guy replied.

Renji furrowed his brows. "Why would she be summoned there?"

"Who knows?" the guy responded with a shrug.

"Yeah, whatever, thanks for letting me know."

And with that, Renji ran toward the principal's office as he couldn't wait one more minute to tell her the good news even though it meant that she would demand him to treat her a good meal in return for helping him prepare for said test.

Once he arrived to the student administration building, Renji kept asking around for Rukia until some student finally pointed to a certain meeting room which she saw Rukia entered earlier.

It could be said that Renji was an impatient man, as he didn't bother to knock on the door before he bust in, calling for her as he did, "Rukia! Guess what, I just passed the second test, if I pass another one, I'll—"

He froze and stopped speaking in the middle of his sentence as soon as he realized she wasn't alone in the room, but instead the academy's principal was in there with her.

"Well, then, since your friend is here for you, you should go with him. Again, congratulations, Nanashi-kun."

With that the principal headed to the door in order to leave the room. Renji gave the man a bow since he was, after all, a principal. Then he rushed to Rukia's side.

"What's going on, Rukia?" he asked, noticing the weird expression on his friend's face. "Why did the principal call you here?"

That expression hadn't left Rukia's face when she turned to look at Renji and replied: "Well, it seems I've caught the attention of some lonely old nobleman, so he offers to be my benefactor until I graduate from the academy."

"Huh?" Renji asked, blinking. "You mean the principal?"

"Not the principal, you dope!" Rukia replied, finally her expression returned to normal. "He's just passing the message from this nobleman. Here, take a look."

With that, Rukia shoved a piece of paper she had been holding to Renji's chest, so Renji had no choice but accepting it.

Renji could tell from the moment his finger touched the paper that it was of a high quality and when he brought the paper up to look at what was written on it, he could smell a faint scent of cherry blossom on it.

The letter was beautifully calligraphed in black ink, which read:

"_**To Nanashi Rukia-kun,**_

_**When you received this letter, the principal should have already explained to you about my intention to be your benefactor during the time you are a student in the Shinō Academy.**_

_**At this moment, you would probably wonder why I especially chose to grant this scholarship to you instead of choosing one of the top students or the ones that have more financial needs than yourself. Therefore, I shall be honest and tell you the truth that I chose you out of my own selfish reason.**_

_**I have recently lost my wife whom I love dearly and you look very similar to the way she did when she was around your age. When I first saw you, it was as if I saw her alive again. Therefore, after I learned that you were in need of money that you had to do several part-time jobs a week, I couldn't help feeling that I should do something to help you.**_

_**I'm certain that my offer may come as a surprise and may seem too suspicious for you; however, I would like to assure you that I made this offer out of an honest intention and that I do not wish for anything from you in return for this offer that I offer, except to know that you will have a better living than you do now and could focus your full attention on your lessons in the academy.**_

_**I sincerely hope you shall accept this humble scholarship.**_

_**Sincerely,**__**"**_

The writer of the letter didn't sign his name at the end of the letter nor did he stamp down any personal seal that would reveal his actual name. Instead, what was stamped in red ink at the end of the letter was a small cherry blossom emblem.

"The guy is right, this really seems suspicious," Renji commented. "I mean, why would a guy want to give some random girl his money without wanting anything at all in return? Are you sure he's not some perverted old man who preys on young women?"

"I don't think the principal would agree to pass his message and put good words for him if the guy is actually a perv."

Although Rukia had a point, Renji was still unsure about it.

"They could be in cahoots, you know? Besides, which part of the letter convinced you that this guy is actually some harmless lonely old man anyway?"

"The part that said I looked like his wife when she was my age, which means the wife has to already be old and thus he too must also be old, unless of course he's some cougar hunter, which also means that I'm out of his hunting zone anyway."

Renji laughed at his friend's response.

"You might be right," he agreed. "If he's still young, he'd probably not have this kind of thought and he'd most likely just move on and date some other women already."

"Exactly," Rukia said. "Besides, he doesn't ask for anything from me in return for this scholarship at all, not even to meet or to write him some letters."

Renji shrugged.

"I still feel this is still too good to be true, but hey, maybe luck is finally on your side this time, midget! You get an old guy who promises to fund you through the academy, so you don't have to work your ass off with all those part-time jobs anymore. So accept his offer and let's pray that this guy won't die of old age before you actually graduate!"

Rukia hit Renji upside the head. "What do you mean? Don't you put a curse on him, idiot."

"Ouch!" Renji cried and rubbed the back of his head where Rukia just hit before he turned to glare at her. "I'd say he had already been cursed if he was once married to a woman who looked like you."

In response to her friend's insult, Rukia kicked him in his backside.

"I will have you know that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder," she said, glaring at him, "and you, Renji, have a bad taste."

With that, Rukia walked away from the room, leaving Renji behind while he once again had to rub the place where she kicked just to relieve the pain.


	4. And A Butterfly Flaps Its Wings

A/N: Many thanks to all who read, reviewed, liked and/or subscribed to this story. I apologize for not replying to your reviews and for taking a bit longer than usual to update. This chapter doesn't progress as much as I'd like it to be, but I guess some foundation needed to be created for a relationship to build upon. (That, or my writing style is just slow in general.) Anyway, please feel free to let me know how you like or dislike the story so far. Till next time.

* * *

**Chapter 4: And A Butterfly Flaps Its Wings**

It was a fine-weather day when Captain Aizen made his way down the Fifth Division's corridor past the training ground. He was on his way to meet Captain Tōsen Kaname at the Ninth Division's compound as the blind captain had invited him to have tea and play Go with him.

Aizen hadn't made it out of the Fifth Division's main building when he spotted his second-in-command sitting on the porch while holding what appeared to be a hell butterfly between his thumb and forefinger.

Gin was holding a butterfly by its body and watching as it flapping its wings in an attempt to escape from his fingers.

"I hope you know that we don't condone animal cruelty in this division, Gin," Aizen said in way of greeting, causing the silver-haired lieutenant to turn his attention to him and then gave him his perpetual smile.

"Good morning, Aizen-taichō," he said. "I thought you'd be at Tōsen-san's already."

Instead of replying to Gin's comment, Aizen simply asked a question of his own, "What are you doing with that butterfly, by the way?"

"Oh, this?" Gin asked, looking back at the butterfly which was still trying to escape from his hold. "It's an untrained hell butterfly that got loose when the new recruits opened the cage to feed all butterflies earlier this morning. They're still looking for it, obviously, so I thought I'd prank them a little by keeping it here with me while they search around the whole compound for this little guy."

Aizen shook his head at his lieutenant's plan.

"And you keep complaining about how the subordinates don't seem to like you," Aizen remarked.

Gin laughed in that little evil way of his.

"Well, one has to play a bad guy to your good guy image, Aizen-taichō," Gin noted lightly. "Besides, if they get this butterfly back so easily, they wouldn't learn to be more careful the next time they handle the butterflies, would they? You might as well say I'm being cruel to be kind."

"I'd say you just enjoy seeing people squirm so much that you'd use any excuse to make it so that they do," Aizen remarked, not buying the excuse even for a second. After all, he knew his lieutenant too well. "Now seriously, Gin, just return the butterfly to them so that they could spend their time doing more useful tasks than running around searching for one butterfly."

The smile on Gin's face faltered slightly at the comment.

"You just have to take the fun out of everything, don't you, Aizen-taichō," he whined. "Oh, well, I'll return it to them. In an hour, that is."

Aizen sighed softly, but he didn't make any further comment on it, knowing that regardless of what he might have said to the man, Gin would still have it his own way. And though he normally wouldn't tolerate any insubordination from any of his underlings despite how kind he might have appeared, he always made Gin a special case ever since the first day he took that man under his wings.

"By the way, Aizen-taichō," Gin continued, looking at the butterfly with his head tilted to one side. "Do you think it's true that when a butterfly flaps its wings here, it could cause a storm in the world of the living in two weeks from now?"

Aizen gave Gin a peculiar look.

"You're not planning to start a storm in the world of the living with that butterfly, are you, Gin? Because if that's your plan, you will be in for a big disappointment."

"But it wouldn't hurt to try, would it?" Gin countered.

Aizen sighed softly.

"It's just a metaphor," Aizen noted. "A theory that a small, insignificant change in one place may result in vast differences in other place in later state. But I'm sure you've known that already."

Gin thought about it for a moment before he asked, "Like, if a student we plan to convince to join our division chose to join any division but ours, it could result in a failure of our entire scheme?"

Aizen narrowed his brown eyes at his lieutenant's word.

"What brings about such question?"

Still not letting go of the butterfly, Gin replied:

"Well, I met rokubantai-fukutaichō Kuchiki Byakuya-san at the Shinō Academy the other day and he seemed to be interested in one of the students that we're having our eyes on."

Although Aizen didn't seem too concerned by that news, he still asked just out of curiosity, "Which one?"

"The red-haired one, Abarai Renji," Gin replied. "Would that be any problem to us, taichō?"

Aizen didn't spend any time to think about all of the consequences that could come from the fact that a certain lieutenant of the Sixth Division was also interested in one of the students Aizen planned to recruit before he responded:

"No, not all. In fact, it'd be fine even if he was interested in all of them. After all, it proves that they really do have potentials. Besides, if I really need to include all of those kids in my plan, they'll fall into my grasp regardless of what anyone else might have wanted."

"So we don't need to be concerned about Kuchiki Byakuya-san?"

Aizen allowed his mind to play back the memories he had of the head of the Kuchiki family before he smiled.

"Byakuya-kun has the potential to become the strongest leader the Kuchiki clan have ever had if those old fools he called his elders would let him spread his wings and explore such potential. However, right now, he's just a broken man and all his family does is trying to break him further, so he won't become a hindrance to our plan anytime soon," he remarked. "But if you're worried, Gin, you can always try to get close to him and spy on all of his moves. After all, it'll give you something to do so you won't have to play too many pranks on our subordinates."

Gin laughed at Aizen's suggestion.

"I'm not playing pranks on them because I have nothing to do, Aizen-taichō."

"Oh, I know," Aizen replied. "Anyway, I'll be off now. Don't forget to return that butterfly, Gin."

With that, Aizen waved at his lieutenant and continued on his way out of the Fifth Division.

* * *

In another part of Seireitei, Rukia was sitting on her bed in the Shinō Academy's dormitory with a kinpū—a hand-folded money envelope closed with a stiff handmade decorative tie—set on her laps. She had gone to see the principal earlier in the day to tell him that she would be pleased to accept the offer from the anonymous nobleman; and thus, the principal handed her the envelope which her benefactor had entrusted to him to pass to her as if he had already known she would not reject his offer.

'He asked me to tell you that if the money he provided for you was not enough to cover all of your monthly expenses, you could pass him a message through me,' the principal added after he handed her the envelope.

Rukia hadn't opened the envelope right away and simply returned to her dorm room in order to open it. She didn't expect that there would be much money inside the envelope, since her benefactor had mentioned it in his letter that it was just a humble amount. Therefore, Rukia almost dropped the envelope to the ground after she opened it and saw the amount of money that was placed inside that envelope.

If she opened the envelope when she was still in the presence of the principal, she might have already asked him to tell her benefactor that what he thought might not be enough to cover her monthly expenses was more than enough to cover for at least three months worth of her expenses. Then again, she supposed those rich noble people wouldn't really know how normal people actually lived their lives.

Holding the envelope close to her chest, she closed her eyes and smiled happily. With the money that was given to her, she could quit all those part-time jobs and would still have more than enough money to buy herself good meals everyday and even save some for buying Renji a birthday present.

"How could I ever thank you enough, Kanzan-dono?" she wondered, looking at the money envelope in her hand.

Since she felt that it would be too cold and impersonal to keep referring to her benefactor as an anonymous benefactor, Rukia decided to give him a nickname based on the little information she knew about him. Due to the fact that he used a cherry blossom as his seal, she believed it would be best to use a name that was related to such flower. Therefore, she chose to call him by the name "Kanzan", as Kanzan is a type of pink cherry blossoms and to her, it sounded more masculine than the name Sakura.

"Well, you may not want to reveal your identity to me, but I'll still do my best with my study so that I'll become an honor student and later a renowned Shinigami so that you can be proud of me, so please watch me from now on, Kanzan-dono."

* * *

Rukia was running around the campus, looking for Renji. Since she had received a generous sum of money from the man she dubbed as Kanzan, she was hoping to invite him out to have a good lunch with her to celebrate.

She found Renji in the middle of the hallway to the main lecture theater. He was carrying a large pouch on his shoulder and also had his asauchi clad on his obi sash.

From the way he looked, Rukia assumed that he was about to go out on another training session that only the students in the advanced class had the privilege to go. For a moment, she couldn't help feeling jealous of that fact, but then she decided not to dwell on such feeling and called out to him.

"Oi, Renji!"

The red-haired man turned to the direction of her voice.

"Hey, Rukia, what's up?"

Instead of telling him that she wanted to have lunch with him, she asked, "Do you advanced students have a special training again?"

Upon hearing her question, Renji widened his eyes. He then gave Rukia a sheepish look before he remarked, "Don't tell me I actually forgot to tell you about this."

Rukia narrowed her eyes when she looked at him and the look was enough to tell Renji that, yes, he actually forgot.

Renji scratched his chin as if he was wondering how he managed to forget to tell her about his plan when he usually told her everything about anything that happened to him, especially if it meant he could show off to her a little.

"So what haven't you told me?" she pressed.

"Well, you remember those three tests I told you about?"

"Yeah, and I also helped you prepared for the second one," Rukia replied, "what about them?"

"You see, any students who passed the first two tests will be get to go to an intensive training camp for one whole week to learn more about zanjutsu, you know, the art of wielding a zanpakutō. After that, we'll come back to take the third test. If we pass this third test, we'll be advanced to the second year course right away."

Rukia blinked at the explaination. "And you plan to tell me this when?"

Afraid of his friend's wrath, Renji quickly responded:

"Look, Rukia, it's not like I meant to keep it from you. It's just that I didn't think I would pass those tests at first. I was going to tell you when the result was announced but then there was this thing about you getting an offer from some weird as benefactor, so it just escaped me."

Rukia pursed her lips. Although she should be congratulating Renji for the achievement, she couldn't help feeling somewhat depressed at the same time, as every accomplishment he made took them a little further apart.

Renji sighed softly. Guilt was written all over his face for having forgotten to share such an important information with his best friend.

"Anyway, I still haven't passed the third test yet, so—"

"So you'll do your best to past that test as well," she said, putting on her best supportive face.

She might have been jealous of his accomplishment at times and she might have also felt depressed that ever since they entered the Shino Academy, she and Renji kept growing apart. However, in the end, she still wanted what was best for him. So she would literally kick his ass if he were to consider holding himself back for her sake.

Renji gave Rukia a somewhat uncertain look, so she glared back at him.

"I'll kick your ass if you fail," she added.

"Right."

Seeing that Renji's classmates had already called for him, Rukia waved her hand in a gesture for him to go.

"Your friends are calling for you now, so you'd better go."

"Yeah, I'll be back on Sunday, so I'll see you then?"

Putting on her best nonchalant face, she shrugged.

"Maybe, maybe not. I also have a training plan of my own. Who knows? When you get back, my skills might have already surpassed yours."

Renji rolled his eyes at that. "Yeah, right, whatever. See you later, Rukia."

With a wave of his hand, Renji ran after his classmates who had gone without him, leaving Rukia behind to watch him leave.

Once Renji was out of her sight, Rukia sighed softly. Although she sometimes felt as if her only friend was slowly slipping away from her, feeling sad or disappointed wasn't going to help. Therefore, instead of wallowing in such negative feelings, she believed it would be better to spend her time trying to improve her skills in order to catch up to Renji so that he couldn't leave her behind even if he might want to.

* * *

Since Rukia had a benefactor and no longer needed to be concerned about her financial situation, she decided to quit all of her part-time jobs so that she could use her free time to review all the lessons and practice all the new moves she learned from her class.

It was then that a thought that had never entered her mind before came to her attention, and the thought was that she might have been too dependent on Renji and their friendship. Because now that she no longer had part-time jobs to do and Renji wasn't around to distract her; she realized just how lonesome she was.

It wasn't as if she didn't know anyone aside from him, but of all classmates that she knew, she wasn't close enough to any of them to actually hang out with them in her free time. Perhaps it was like Renji had once commented and she really did find it hard to adjust to a new environment, or perhaps it was due to the fact that most of her classmates were from noble houses and didn't want to associate themselves with someone who came from the part that was considered one of the worst districts in Rukongai. But no matter what the reason actually was, it still wouldn't change the fact that she still depend a little too much on Renji.

She wasn't sure if Renji noticed it or if he actually minded; but sometimes, she couldn't help wondering if Renji subconsciously tried to create a distance between them, considering how he conveniently forgot to mention to her about how he would be on a training camp for the whole week or that he left out the fact that after his exam he could be advanced to the second year course while she would still be stuck in the first year.

There was a moment when she let her mind wander and imagine what it would have been like if the offer from Kanzan-dono was not just to be her benefactor but to adopt her into his family as his adopted daughter instead.

She wondered what Renji would have said in response to such offer. Would he have told her to accept the proposal so that he would no longer have someone to hold him back, or would he have asked her to stay so that they could be together still?

"What a useless thought!" she said to herself. "Of course, Renji would ask me not to go. After all, if I were to enter a noble house, we might not be able to continue being friends. Hell, I'd slap him senseless if he dares say that I should accept that kind of offer. And why am I even wondering about this? It's not like Kanzan-dono wanted to adopt me to begin with. It's already too kind of him to have offered to be my benefactor. No matter how much I reminded him of his dead wife, no sane noble person would want to tarnish the name of his house by adopting a girl from slum into his family."

And thus she laughed at the thought and brushed it aside and then put her focus on her study and practice. However, with her having quit the part-time jobs and Renji being out of town until Sunday, Rukia was left with not much to do on her weekend.

Although she could have gone to the practice field to train her skills, the good spots were already taken by other students. Therefore, Rukia decided to go out and find somewhere else to train.

As she recalled walking past a nice open area in the second district of South Rukongai on her way to her part-time job at an izakaya; Rukia decided to head there for her training.

Soon enough, Rukia found herself in the second district of South Rukongai, heading toward the direction of said open area.

Upon approaching to the area, Rukia furrowed her brows slightly and questioned herself whether she came to the wrong place since she didn't recall ever seeing any cherry trees there. However, the area was covered in a pale pink color of cherry blossoms as the flower petals beautifully swirled in the air as if they were dancing.

"Wow! I didn't realize cherry blossoms in this area are already blooming," she muttered to herself. "I guess I can bring Renji here for flower viewing when he gets back. After all, I still haven't made up to him for that one time I rejected his invitation to view plum blossoms with him."

Rukia smiled at the idea and decided that even if she might have come to the wrong area, it wouldn't hurt to survey the place to see if it would be worthwhile to invite her friend there later. After all, if there were only a few cherry trees in the area, it might not be worth going out there to view the flowers, especially when all cherry trees in Seireitei would be in full bloom in about two weeks from that time.

With that thought, Rukia allowed her feet to bring her closer to where the cherry blossom petals were dancing in the air. However, the closer she got to the area, the harder it was for her to breathe.

It wasn't because the beauty of the scene had taken her breath away, but it was due to the fact that the closer she got to the scene, the more it felt as if she was pressured by some invisible force.

She only managed to take ten more steps ahead before the force became unbearable so she could no longer move. Even so, she still got close enough to see that behind those swirling flower petals was a man she immediately recognized as the butler of the Kuchiki family, Seike.

He was clad in dark blue kosode and black hakama. The sleeves of his kosode was tied up by a white tasuki sash so that they would not get in the way as he gracefully moved his arms around as if he was dancing to a music that only he could hear.

It was then that Rukia noticed how all of the cherry blossom petals were also dancing in accordance with the movement of the man's hands. And at that exact moment, Rukia began to wonder if the flower petals were actually flowers. She also began to doubt he was just an ordinary butler, since she didn't think someone who possessed his level of skills in flash-step, hand-to-hand combat, and possibly kidō would choose to remain just as a butler even if it was a butler of one of the richest and most influential noble clans. However, she didn't really care for the answer, since at that moment, the more pressing matter was for her to keep breathing.

As Rukia was struggling to breathe under such a heavy spiritual pressure the man emitted, a few stray flower petals flew toward her direction. Those petals would have scraped her skin should they continue flying in that direction; however, before any of them could reach to her, Seike noticed her there.

His gray eyes widened slightly as he spotted her. At that same moment, he quickly motioned his hand toward himself as if to beckon those flowers back to him.

And just like that, all of the cherry blossom petals disappeared into thin air, and then the pressure that seemed to have kept Rukia from being able to fully breathe was gone.

* * *

Byakuya stared at Rukia who was busying taking deep breaths after he lifted all of his spiritual pressure. He mentally kicked himself for having been too absorbed in his own training that he failed to notice how someone had gotten close to the training area.

He should have been more careful and at least set up some kind of barrier around the area rather than believing that no one in Rukongai would be able to withstand the force of his spiritual pressure and get into his zanpakutō's radius.

It was fortunate that Senbonzakura was well aware of their surroundings and warned him of her presence as soon as he noticed her there so that Byakuya could command the blades back to him just before it could hit her or otherwise he would have ended up injuring the one person he had sworn to protect.

Although he had told himself that he should keep his distance and that he should only be her silent guardian and anonymous benefactor, he couldn't just leave Rukia there after he almost cut her with his very own blades. Therefore, Byakuya approached to her.

"Are you alright?" he asked. "Those petals did not hurt you, did they?"

As he asked, he took a quick look at her from head to toe in order to see with his own eyes whether or not she was injured.

In that one quick glance, he noted how she was clad in a cheap worn purple kimono and for a moment there he wondered if the money he gave to her as an anonymous benefactor was not enough for her to buy some nicer clothes. However, seeing as he didn't plan to ever reveal himself as her benefactor, he couldn't really ask.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied. "Those flowers didn't reach to me, though I must ask if they were supposed to hurt me if they did."

He didn't blame her for wondering. After all, no one who saw Senbonzakura for the first time would believe that a zanpakutō which appeared so much flower petals when it was released would be capable of causing fatal injuries.

"What you saw earlier was not flower petals," he explained, "so yes, they could have injured you."

"Oh," she said, obviously not grasping how dangerous those petals actually were.

"At any rate, it's a relief to know that you're unharmed, but even so I still must apologize for not being more careful when I trained."

"There's no need for you to apologize," she quickly responded. "I mean, no harm was done and it was also my fault for getting too close and interrupting you while you were training."

Byakuya furrowed his brows slightly. He had expected her to simply accept his apology and then continue on her way to wherever she was planning to go, yet she was still standing there, looking as if she wanted to keep conversing with him.

Since he had already made up his mind to keep a certain distance and protect her without being directly involved with her life, the wisest option for him in that situation was to excuse himself and leave. However, a small part of him still wanted to know her as a person rather than as a name on a report. Perhaps it was because she was the last living connection he had of Hisana or perhaps it was due to an entirely different reason; Byakuya couldn't really tell. But no matter what the reason actually was, that part of him still kept him there.

"Even if you should say so, it still doesn't change the fact that I was careless," he pointed.

Rukia tilted her head slightly as she took a look at him.

"Are you always this serious, Seike-san?"

Byakuya blinked once. While he wouldn't say that he was someone who could easily be forgotten, he still didn't expect her to be able to remember him, much less as Seike the butler. After all, they had only met twice and they didn't exchange more than a few lines. Yet somehow she still did, and Byakuya wasn't sure if he should be pleased by that fact.

Taking Byakuya's reaction as a sign that he might have already forgotten who she was, Rukia decided to give him a little detail about herself to jog his memory.

"I guess you don't remember me, but my name is Nanashi Rukia. You rescued me from a Shinigami a couple of weeks earlier and then I delivered some spice to you at the Kuchiki Mansion."

After she was done reintroducing herself, Rukia looked at Byakuya with something akin to a hopeful look in her eyes. It was as if she wanted to see that he at least had some recollection of her, though why she wanted to be remembered by someone she believed to be a mere butler was beyond him.

Although he could pretend not to remember and let it be the end of their conversation, somehow Byakuya didn't have it in him to disappoint her.

"I do remember you."

"Eh? You do?" she asked, somewhat surprised. "But I thought you don't, since you didn't seem to recognize me at all and you also looked surprised when I addressed you by name."

"Rukia isn't a name one gets to hear so often," he commented.

Rukia laughed lightly.

"People usually say I have a strange name," she noted. "Anyway, if you don't mind me asking, Seike-san. Is Seike your name or your family name?"

Byakuya looked at her as if he tried to read her mind as to why she would want to know, but then he decided that it would be easier just to ask.

"Why would you like to know?"

"Well, it might not be a big deal to you when you rescued me that one time, but if you were someone who grew up in a place where people would watch as someone being beaten to death and then come in later to collect any valuables that the dead might have left, you would know how big of a deal it is when someone actually came to your rescue," she explained, "which is why, if possible, I'd like to know the name of the person who saved me."

After hearing her reason, Byakuya found it hard not to at least tell her his name, even if doing so would go against his plan to remain completely unknown to her while he try to protect her from a shadow.

"My name is Byakuya."

From the way she furrowed her brows when she heard his name, Byakuya wondered if Rukia finally made the connection between the name he offered and the name of the head of the Kuchiki family as well as the lieutenant of the Sixth Division. Not that he would be disappointed if she couldn't. In fact, he would prefer it more if she never could. Still, it wouldn't make any difference whether she would ever realize who he actually was since he doubted that they would keep running into each other, much less ever develop any personal relationship.

"So it's Seike Byakuya-san," she muttered to herself.

Byakuya didn't say or do anything in order to accept or deny that conclusion. Instead, he simply looked at her.

Sensing the awkward atmosphere, Rukia flashed Byakuya a smile.

"Anyway, I'm probably being a bother to you, so I'll just go find some place else to train and leave this place to you," she said. "In any case, it's a pleasure to see you today, Seike-san. Please feel free to greet me whenever you see me again."

With that, she bowed to him and then left for some other place.

Byakuya followed her with his eyes and didn't look away from that direction even after she disappeared from his line of sight. His action caused his zanpakutō who was watching everything through Byakuya's eyes to make a comment.

'_Be careful, Byakuya,'_ Senbonzakura warned. _'I have a feeling you're starting to feel attached to that girl.'_


	5. Let This Be Our Little Secret

A/N: Greetings, dear readers. Once again, thank you for all reviews you have submitted so far. I feel I've been quite inconsistent with my writing lately, and to make the matter worse, I've spent too much time procrastinating, so I must apologize for the delay in posting this chapter. Anyway, I hope this chapter is worth the wait. In any case, comments and criticisms are welcome. Till next time.

* * *

**Chapter 5: Let This Be Our Little Secret**

Although a kitchen was one of the Shinō Academy's dorm's common facilities, not many students actually used it since it was cheaper—not to mention more convenient—to buy food and snacks from the academy's canteen, using student discount, than to buy all ingredients from the market and then cook for themselves. Therefore, it wasn't a big surprise that Rukia managed to have the kitchen to herself, especially when she was there in an early Saturday morning when most students who chose not to return home for the weekend would still be sleeping in their respective beds.

She had woken up at a crack of dawn in order to go to the morning market and buy fresh ingredients before she returned to the dorm's kitchen to start cooking. Although she had already expected that everything in Seireitei's market would be considerably more expensive than in Rukongai's market; Rukia still couldn't help thinking that the price of all ingredients she needed was daylight robbery and that if it had been a month ago, she wouldn't have bought anything there and would have settled for buying some bland food from the canteen. However, since she had received the scholarship from a mysterious nobleman and had some money to spare, she decided that it wouldn't hurt to have home cooked meal every once in a while, especially when she wasn't cooking just to indulge herself, and bought the ingredients anyway.

Rukia gingerly washed the vegetables she bought after she set up some rice to be cooked in a steamer. If a part-time job as a kitchen hand taught her anything, it would be how to prepare the ingredients and cook simple dishes. The chef at the placed she used to work had even once said that she had the talent for cooking; however, Rukia hardly ever had a chance to cook outside of work.

She had been so absorbed by her activities that she didn't realize how much time had passed. She only knew that Hinamori Momo caught her in the kitchen by the time she was making sweet rolled omelet.

"Good morning, Rukia-chan," the girl greeted as she entered the kitchen. "What are you cooking so early in the morning?"

Rukia turned over her shoulder and gave Hinamori a smile in way of greeting.

"I'm just making tamagoyaki, Hinamori-san," Rukia replied and then turned her attention back to the omelet she was frying in the pan.

Seeing that Rukia was cooking, Hinamori walked over to Rukia and then stopped just when she was standing close enough to see the food that her friend was cooking but not too close that she would get in Rukia's way.

"Wow! That looks amazing," Hinamori complimented. "I didn't realize you can cook, Rukia-chan."

"Well, I've been working as a kitchen hand at a restaurant, so I picked up a little bit of skills," Rukia replied. "I can only cook simple dishes, though."

With that said, Rukia skillfully rolled the egg in the pan.

"Now you're being humble," Hinamori said, knowing that it required a certain level of skill and expertise to be able to precisely flip and roll an omelet in the pan with just a help of a pair of chopsticks. "What's the occasion, by the way? I mean, I don't think you bought these ingredients just because you felt like cooking, and the flower viewing party is tomorrow."

Rukia opened her mouth to reply, but the she stopped herself before she uttered a word.

The truth was Hinamori was right. Rukia wouldn't have bought all the pricey ingredients just because she felt like cooking. There was a reason she woke up early in the morning just to buy fresh ingredients and then cook, and just as Hinamori suspected, it wasn't because of the flower viewing party that she, Renji, Hinamori and Kira would be having in the next day. However, Rukia couldn't really tell Hinamori that the actual reason behind her effort was so that she could give the food to the man who had kindly agreed to help with her Shinigami skills training, Seike Byakuya.

Ever since the time he came to rescue her from some stupid Shinigami, she kept running into him at different places. First, it was at the Kuchiki Mansion where she went to deliver some spice, and then she met him again at an empty field in Rukongai where he was practicing on what she could only assumed to be a complicated kidō spell.

Their fourth meeting took place one week earlier. However, it might not be as unexpected as all the previous meetings, since she met him again at that same empty field in second district of Rukongai where she met him for the third time.

She could honestly say that she didn't go there in order to meet him. In fact, it was quite the contrary, since she didn't expect him to return to that place again after she spotted him training there. After all, she had a feeling that it used to be his secret training place, so when it was no longer a secret, she believed he would look for a new place to train and never returned to that field again.

However, she couldn't have been more wrong...

_Rukia arrived to that place quite early in the morning and started training with a bokken wooden sword which had been given to all students since their first day in the Shinō Academy. Zanjutsu, otherwise known as swordsmanship, had never been her strength. In fact, it was probably the Shinigami's art that she was worst at._

_A bokken had always felt strange in her hands, and no matter how hard she tried, she just didn't seem to grasp how to be better at wielding a sword. Sometimes she wondered if she would be able to make it through and became a Shinigami, since an ability to wield a zanpakutō was a requirement of being a great Shinigami._

_Just as she was practicing all different moves she learned from class and beginning to feel as if she didn't make any real progress, a smooth male voice cut through the silence and reached her ears._

'_You might want to consider loosening your grip on the sword slightly.'_

_Rukia jumped at the advice and quickly turned to the origin of the voice. She gasped when she saw Byakuya standing right behind her and realized that she had been wrong to believe that he would not return to train on that field again._

'_Seike-san!'_

_He gave her a slight nod of his head as if to acknowledge her greeting. Since he wore no expression on his face, and she didn't know him well enough to be able to read the look in his gray eyes; Rukia wasn't sure what he thought about seeing her there at what might have been his secret training ground._

'_I'm sorry. I didn't mean to steal your favorite training spot, and I swear I'm not stalking you or anything either,' she quickly made an excuse for her appearance there. 'I just thought_—_'_

'_That since you found me here the other time, I wouldn't have returned to this place, so you could take the spot for your own,' he said, finishing her thought, and Rukia could only gave him a sheepish smile in response to how accurate he was._

'_I'll just go and train somewhere else. I'm really sorry, Seike-san.'_

_He raised his arm as a gesture for her to stop._

'_Stay,' he said. 'After all, this is a public place and you did arrive first. I should be the one to look for another place to train.'_

'_But isn't this your secret training spot or something?' she wondered, somehow feeling less tensed after hearing his reasoning._

'_If it's really a secret spot, you wouldn't have been able to find it in the first place,' he noted nonchalantly._

_Although he wasn't sure if it was a joke or not, since he had a very straight face when he delivered his line, Rukia still found herself laughing at his word._

'_I guess you're right,' she said._

'_Well, then, I shall look for another place to train so you could have your privacy,' he said and then gave her a slight nod of his head in way of bidding farewell before he prepared to turn to leave._

'_Wait, Seike-san!' Rukia said, making him turn around to look at her with his eyebrow raised. 'I would feel bad if I let you look for other place, so how about we both train here? I mean, it's a big place, and I don't think either one of us would take up too much space. Unless, of course, you're planning to train that deadly swirly flowery technique of yours again, then that might be bad.'_

_Byakuya thought about her suggestion for a moment before he nodded his head and replied:_

'_In that case, I'll stay.'_

_Rukia gave him a big smile before she turned her attention back to what she had previously been training and didn't pay any attention on what Byakuya was planning to train there._

_A few moments had passed before Rukia groaned in frustration since she didn't feel that she had improved at all. Her movements seemed awkward and stiff when they should have been fluid and strong. She then decided to take a break and steal a glance at what the butler of the Kuchiki Mansion was doing as he had been so quiet since he arrived there._

_Rukia almost expected to see nothing but an empty space when she turned to the direction where she had last seen him, yet when she looked to that direction she saw him under a tree in a lotus position, possibly meditating with his sword resting on his laps._

_Seeing how serene and regal he looked and having witnessed him exercising his different skills, Rukia found it hard to believe that someone like him would end up just as a butler without striving for more. However, she still didn't know him well enough to ask what might have been been a personal question to him, so all she could do was keeping the curiosity to herself._

'_Staring at me would not help you in honing your skills, Nanashi-kun,' Byakuya commented before he opened his eyes._

_Caught, Rukia blushed and quickly turned away from him and then quickly resumed a_ _chūdan_ _stance with her left foot slightly behind her right and her hands held her bokken in front of her body._

'_I was just wondering why you've been so quiet,' she said. 'You can call me Rukia, by the way. Nobody calls me Nanashi.'_

'_I was mediating,' he replied from where he was sitting. 'And just like I said when I arrived here, Rukia-kun, your grip on the bokken is too tight.'_

_Rukia turned to Byakuya and tilted her head. 'How much do you know about zanjutsu, Seike-san?'_

'_I know enough to get by,' was his reply._

'_Could you give me some pointers, then?' she asked, somewhat hopeful. 'As you can see, zanjutsu isn't exactly my strongest skill, but I need to get better if I want to progress faster at the Shinō Academy.'_

'_So you're a student there?' Byakuya asked, and yet somehow he didn't seem surprised._

'_Yes, Seike-san,' she replied. 'My friend and I enrolled to the academy together last fall, but unlike him, my grades are just average at best. Well, except for kidō maybe, since it's my best subject, but I digress, don't I?'_

_Just as Rukia was mentally kicking herself for babbling too much, Byakuya walked over to her. He took a quick glance at her stance before he pointed the sheathed katana in his hand to the ground near her right foot._

'_Place your right foot here,' he said and after he saw that she had followed his instruction, he pointed his sword to another spot and remarked, 'and your left foot should be here.'_

_He then looked at how she held her wooden sword before he narrowed his eyes slightly._

'_Your grip is too stiff. Try relaxing your shoulders more. May I?'_

_When he asked the last question, Byakuya made a gesture with his right hand hovering just above Rukia's but he did not touch her before he gave him a nod. He then quickly corrected the position of her grips as well as changing the angle of the sword she was holding. After he was done, he quickly pulled his hand away as if the contact had burnt him._

'_Remember this position,' he said. 'And you should also remember that the sword you are holding shouldn't feel like a tool to you, but it should feel as if it is an extension of yourself, for if what you're holding is zanpakutō, then it is really an extension of you...'_

_Rukia continued to train under Byakuya's guidance until the sun was right above their head, and her stomach was growling. It was then that she realized that she had been bothering him for hours when he was there for his own training, not to be her trainer._

_Despite what she was afraid, he didn't seem to mind. In fact, he appeared to genuinely want to help her with her training and he even offered to meet her again in the following weekend in order to see how much she progressed after one week of having practiced what he had taught._

'_Wouldn't that be troublesome for you, Seike-san?' Rukia couldn't help asking._

'_I wouldn't have made that offer if I thought it would be troublesome for me,' he replied._

'_I don't have anything to give to you in return, though.'_

_Byakuya nodded as if to say that he had already guessed as much, which made Rukia wondered if she actually looked like some poor damsel in distress that he felt he had to offer his helping hand to. However, Rukia wasn't going to question his intention for offering to help her, since it would be as if she was looking at a gift horse in the mouth. Besides, she believed herself to be a rather good judge of character, and her gut told her she could trust him._

'_Actually, there is one thing you can do for me,' he remarked after a long pause._

'_What is it, Seike-san?' she asked, obviously delighted by the fact that she could do something for him in return for his help. After all, it never felt right for her to simply accept someone's kindness without doing something for that person in return._

'_I'd appreciate it if you do not speak of our training to anyone.'_

_Rukia furrowed her brows slightly as she tried to hazard a guess as to why he did not want her to speak of the training with anyone, but then she figured he might not want anyone to find out that the Kuchikis' butler also possessed a Shinigami's skill, or that he couldn't mind either way but simply asked her to do some random thing so that she could feel that she had done something for him in return._

'_Sure, Seike-san,' she promised. 'This will be our secret.'_

_And thus it was agreed that she would meet and train with him at the field in Rukongai every Saturday morning and that in return, she would not tell anyone about their meetings..._

Even though it should have already satisfied her to keep the promise she gave to him, she still felt it wasn't enough. Therefore, she spent the whole week thinking about what she could do in order to repay the man's kindness, and yet all she could think of was to cook him some lunch, which might or might not suit his taste.

One could say it was not much, but she supposed not much was still better than nothing at all.

The thought of the home made meal brought Rukia's mind back to the conversation she had been having with Hinamori, so Rukia shook her head before she replied rather lamely:

"Oh, this is just my own lunch. I mean, I have to taste my own cooking first to see if it's edible before I give to to everyone, right?"

Hinamori furrowed her brows slightly as if she doubted Rukia's word, and Rukia didn't blame her. After all, the amount of food she prepared was more than for one person. However, Hinamori opted not to press for an actual answer, and Rukia appreciated it, since she didn't want to tell a lie.

"Well, I guess you're right," she remarked. "Anyway, Rukia-chan, I didn't know if Abarai-kun has told you this, but Abarai-kun, Kira-kun and I are going to train our zanjutsu together later this morning. Would you like to join us?"

Renji had also mentioned it to her when they were talking the day before, and Rukia would have agreed without any hesitation had she not already made an appointment to train with Byakuya. However, she had already made plan with him, and she didn't think it would be proper to look for him at the Kuchiki Mansion just to tell him that she couldn't keep the appointment because she would rather be training with her friends. Therefore, as much as she hated to refuse the opportunity to spend more time with the few friends that she had, she still had to.

"Renji has already told me about it, but I'm afraid I cannot come since I already have other engagement," Rukia replied, "but thanks for asking, anyway."

"Ah, how could I have forgotten? You've got to do your part-time job, right?" Hinamori asked, believing that Rukia was still having part-time jobs on the weekends. "That's too bad, but I guess we can train together some other time?"

Rukia nodded and gave the other girl a smile. "Yes, maybe some other time."

"Well, I guess I should leave you to your cooking and go to the canteen to have breakfast," Hinamori said. "I'll see you later, Rukia-chan."

Rukia gave Hinamori a nod before she replied, "See you later, Hinamori-san."

She felt bad for not telling her friends the whole truth, but she didn't dwell on that feeling for too long. After all, a promise was a promise, and it wasn't as if she was doing something bad behind their backs.

* * *

Meanwhile in Rukongai, Byakuya had already arrived to the field where he would later meet with Rukia. He arrived a couple of hours prior to the meeting time, as he wanted to do some training of his own before Rukia would arrive.

Since he didn't want to risk having Rukia caught him by surprise when he was training with his zanpakutō just like that one time, Byakuya decided against releasing his zanpakutō. Instead, he opted to go to the inner world to visit Senbonzakura, hoping that the zanpakutō would be on a less disagreeable mood and thus be more inclined to teach him a better control of Senbonzakura Kageyoshi.

Byakuya knew Senbonzakura hadn't been so pleased with him lately, since he tended to go against every advice and warning that the zanpakutō had given to him, especially when they were matters that involved Hisana's sister, Rukia.

However, despite their different views on several matters, they somehow shared the same opinion when it came to the decision to help that girl with her training...

_Byakuya could have sworn that he did not have any plan to be more involved with that girl than he already had as her anonymous benefactor. He even contemplated looking for a new place to train when he arrived to his usual training spot and found it occupied by her, yet something made him stay there and watch her._

_He had told himself he would only watch her for a moment and then he would go and search for some other place to train, yet after he had watched how she struggled to handle her practiced sword correctly, he couldn't stop himself from approaching to her and then commenting on what she had done wrong in her practice._

_Once he realized his folly, Byakuya planned to leave right afterward, yet he couldn't say no to her when she politely asked him to stay and train there. It was one of those moments when he knew it would be better for him to go, yet he still couldn't quite walk away. So in the end, Byakuya decided that it wouldn't hurt to stay there just a while. He would then excuse himself after some moment had passed so that she would not have to feel as if he was leaving because of her presence._

_He didn't expect, however, that she would later ask for some pointers in how to handle a sword; and it was even more unexpected when he found himself agreeing to it. Very little did he think that it would lead to them setting up an appointment to meet there again so that he could see how much she progressed._

_Unlike all other decisions he had made regarding Rukia, Senbonzakura didn't seem to disapprove this one. In fact, he seemed to be pleased that Byakuya had chosen to help the girl with her training._

'_Well, it's the least you could do,' Senbonzakura reasoned. 'I mean, she's going to be a Shinigami someday, and judging from how she didn't get suffocated by your reiatsu the other time, she will surely become a high-level Shinigami in the future. Since you're not adopting her into the family, so we can't use the family's influence to prevent her from being assigned to all those dangerous missions that would come with the position, at the very least you can personally make sure that she will have the skills she needs to protect herself when we are not around to do so.'_

_He didn't, however, approve how Byakuya still did not correct Rukia's misunderstanding, but instead he chose to let her believe that he was just a butler of the Kuchiki Family._

'_She's bound to find out who you really are, Byakuya, and it'd be sooner rather than later,' Senbonzakura observed. 'After all, you aren't nobody. So wouldn't it be better for her to find out from you now rather than from some other source?'_

'_Perhaps,' Byakuya replied noncommittally, 'but I thought you want me to continue helping her with her training.'_

'_Yes, so?' Senbonzakura replied, not quite understanding what Byakuya was getting at._

'_So we've met her four times now, Senbonzakura,' Byakuya said, 'Do you reckon that she is the type that would dare to associate herself with someone who is of higher social status? She knows her place, Senbonzakura, and even if it's not the place she deserves to be, it's still her place. Once she knew who I am, at best, she'd be wary and try to keep her distance while at worst, she would think that I see her as some kind of novelty act and enjoy watching her making a fool out of herself.'_

_Senbonzakura sighed softly, knowing that Byakuya had a point. However, he then snorted and noted in a mocking tone:_

'_Then I'm surprised you didn't tell her who you were since the moment you met her that second time, Byakuya, seeing how much you've been trying to keep your distance from that girl...'_

Shaking the thought out of his head, Byakuya finally entered his inner world.

* * *

When Rukia arrived to the training place, she found Byakuya sitting on a rock under a tree with his eyes closed and a sword on his laps. If she hadn't known better, she would have thought she had arrived so late that he fell asleep while he waited for her. However, she knew she was not late for their appointment, and she also knew that he was meditating and that if what she had recently read in some book in academy's library about an advance sword meditation technique known as jinzen could apply, it would mean that he could communicate with his zanpakutō, which could imply that he knew more about zanjutsu than just "enough to get by."

Putting down a shoulder sack which she used to carry a couple of lunch boxes she had prepared for the two of them down under the tree close to where Byakuya was meditating, Rukia noticed how deep he seemed to be in his trance. She grinned lopsidedly as she thought that if he was Renji and she had a brush and some ink on her person, she wouldn't have missed the chance to draw something funny on his face. However, since the man before him was not Renji but was someone who seemed to be able to demand respect with just his mere presence, not to mention the fact that he was also someone Rukia was still indebted to; all Rukia did was entertaining the notion and chuckling at the thought before she stepped back and decided to train on her own while she waited for him to come out of trance.

Rukia didn't know when Byakuya had come out of his trance, but when she stopped practicing to turn to his general direction, he was standing with his arms folded above his chest, watching her with a certain pensive look in his piercing gray eyes. She wasn't sure how long he had been observing her practice, but she hoped she hadn't made any wrong moves while he was watching her. After all, he seemed like a strict instructor and would probably expect no less than perfection from someone he had chosen to spare his time to train.

In any case, Rukia bowed to him and uttered her greeting, "Good morning, Seike-san."

"Good morning," he responded, still not moving from his position. "I see you remember everything I taught you last time."

Taking his comment as a compliment, she smiled. The smile didn't last long, however, as she later furrowed her brows in frustration and added, "My moves still feel awkward, though."

"You have high expectation of yourself, which is usually a good start," Byakuya commented. "However, zanjutsu is not an art which you can master in mere days."

"I know," Rukia replied, "but you still spare your precious free time to train me, so I don't want to be a disappointment to you."

Byakuya winced slightly as if her words had struck a chord, but then his expression returned to normal within a second.

Rukia wasn't sure what that reaction meant, but she had a feeling that she might have said something wrong, although she really couldn't tell what that something was. After all, she only said what she felt.

"It is good to set your expectation high, but do not set it too high that it would give you too much pressure to handle," he noted. "As for being a disappointment to me or not, I shall be the judge to that myself and so far you have not disappointed me."

A soft smile appeared on Rukia's face once she heard his last sentence. Although a part of her knew he was just being polite, she was still touched by his words. Perhaps it was because she had grown up with a bunch of boys who hardly ever said nice things to her as they viewed saying anything sentimental as a sign of weakness or perhaps it was because she sensed that the man in front of her was a type that would not utter something unless he meant those words.

"Hana-san was right," she commented. "You are a kind man, Seike-san."

He chuckled at the comment.

"Not many people would use that word to describe me," he observed. "However, let's not waste any more time to discuss this. Shall we proceed with your training?"

Rukia quickly nodded in response and thus the training began.

* * *

When the sun rose to the middle of the sky, Byakuya decided that it would be a good time to end the training for that day. Although swordsmanship might not be Rukia's best skill, Byakuya still thought she did quite well for a novice and had high hopes for her.

He waited until she was done practicing another set of strikes before he suggested:

"It is already midday, so perhaps we should now call it a day?"

"Oh, all right," Rukia replied before she lowered her wooden sword.

"Well, then, Rukia-kun, I'll see you here again next week."

He was preparing to leave just as that; however, before he could do so, Rukia called after him.

"Wait, Seike-san!" she said. "Do you have any appointment after this? I mean, if you're not in a hurry, I've made some lunch. So I'm wondering if you'd like to have lunch together with me before you go?"

Byakuya blinked once since that offer came rather unexpectedly. He wasn't sure what his face might have looked like to her, since Rukia quickly added:

"But it's totally fine if you already have another plan."

Byakuya thought about it for a moment. The truth was he didn't have any plan, except that he had told the real Seike that he would be returning to the mansion for lunch. Although he didn't think Seike would mind at all if he didn't return when he had said he would, he could still use that as an excuse and tell Rukia that he already had another appointment. After all, he shouldn't spend more time with her than it was really necessary, and Rukia said it herself that it would be fine for him to refuse if he already had another plan.

Still, he could tell that she would be disappointed should he refuse, and he didn't want to be the one who caused her to feel down.

"I don't have any other plan," he finally replied.

"That's great!" she exclaimed. "We can sit down at that rock there."

Byakuya felt he had given her the right answer, since her face seemed to be lit up by his words. In fact, he believed that if he was one of her friends, she would have already dragged him by his arm or pushed him in the back in order to get him moving to where she wanted him to sit and have lunch.

However, since she seemed to have given him a little more respect than she did her friends, she only jogged to the rock where she had left her shoulder sack, hoping that he would just follow her there himself.

And follow her, he did.

When Byakuya reached to the rock, Rukia had already brought two lunch boxes out of her shoulder sack. She turned to offer one of those boxes to him. Byakuya accepted it and then proceeded to sit down on the rock.

Rukia then sat down to next to him, close but not close enough that it would be deemed inappropriate. Then she handed him a pair of disposable chopsticks wrapped in a plain paper wrapper.

"Thank you," Byakuya remarked. "You shouldn't have bothered."

"Please consider it my way to repay you for helping me with my training," she responded. "Though in saying that, it's just a simple lunch box, so I hope it's all right with you."

Byakuya opened the lid of the lunch box to look at what was packed inside and he had to fight to suppress a smile that threaten to form on his lips the moment he laid his eyes on the rice that was molded into a shape of a cartoon rabbit face and decorated with a nori seaweed so that it looked like it was smiling and winking at him.

"Do you like rabbits, Rukia-kun?"

Rukia blinked twice at the question since it seemed to come out of nowhere, but then she widened her eyes and all but forcefully take Byakuya's lunch box out of his hands and away from his view.

"Please give it back to me and forget what you just saw, Seike-san!" she said, blushing profusely. "This is so embarrassing. How could I have given you the wrong box?"

"It looks nice," Byakuya commented as he returned the box to her, seeing how uncomfortable she seemed to be with the fact that he had seen her little artwork.

Although he meant it when he said that, he doubted it make Rukia feel any better, since she still refused to meet his eyes when she switch the lunch box he returned to her with the one she laid on her laps and then handed him what was supposed to be the correct lunch box.

"Right, and you're being considerate while I keep making a fool out of myself," she muttered.

Knowing that there was no point in arguing with her about it, he decided not to say anything and opened the new lunch box to reveal a more professional-looking set of meal which consisted of rice, two pieces of fried dumplings, sweet rolled omelet, a few pieces of shrimp tempura and some vegetables.

Byakuya then turned his eyes to Rukia, who poked into her rabbit shaped rice with her chopsticks as if it was her enemy. He watched how she silently eat for a few seconds before he turned his attention back to his own lunch box and started eating.

As he ate his meal, Byakuya couldn't help thinking that while Rukia looked very much like her sister, she was very much different from Hisana. Hisana was a mild-mannered, soft-spoken woman who always carried herself in a lady-like manner whereas Rukia was somewhat tomboyish and full of spunk although she still remained polite and humble.

It was not so often that anyone would act like Rukia did around him, but then, it was probably because she thought he was a mere butler and thus had no reason to feel that she needed to be especially mindful of her manners when she was in his presence. She would probably treat him differently if she found out that she was a head of a noble clan.

'_Y__ou'__ll__ never know that for sure __unless you tell her__, Byakuya_.'

Ignoring Senbonzakura's word, Byakuya turned his gaze back to Rukia who was still attacking at her food with a vengeance. He wondered if there would be a sign to tell him when far became close and close became too close.


End file.
